What is known about the case of the elderly woman who died 3 days after undergoing surgery by mistake Jandira Marina Dias Braga, aged 76, died three days after undergoing surgery for another patient at Hospital Beneficência Portuguesa, in Campinas (SP). The elderly woman was hospitalized to treat an obstruction in her intestine, a consequence of the return of colon cancer. The procedure took place on June 8, but the Civil Police began investigating, this Thursday (23), who was responsible for the exchange of patients and whether the procedure was directly related to the worsening of the elderly woman's condition and death. The hospital admitted the error, said it opened an internal investigation and that administrative measures were taken against the professionals involved, including dismissals. He also said that a medical and technical evaluation concluded that the surgery "did not change the patient's prognosis." ? Click and find out what is already known about the case, below: Who was the patient? Why was she hospitalized? Which surgery was performed by mistake? When was the error discovered? What happened after the surgery? What does the family say? What does the hospital say? Who investigates what happened? Case chronology 1. Who was the patient? Who was an elderly woman who died 3 days after undergoing surgery by mistake: 'Very dear' The family says that Jandira Marina Dias Braga, aged 76, was the center of family gatherings. "She was the person who brought everyone together, grandma's house. So, today, what I only feel is an emptiness, a silence, and the lack of a lap, which I know was the best in the world", said the victim's granddaughter, dentist Camila Dias Barozzi. "My grandmother was a very good and very dear person. I think the last desire to not let her suffer was what we did [...] the important thing is that we didn't want to see her suffer on a hospital bed. I think she is in a much better place", said the granddaughter. 2. Why was she hospitalized? Jandira Marina Dias Braga, aged 76, died three days after undergoing surgery for another patient at Hospital Beneficência Portuguesa, in Campinas (SP). Personal archive 12 years ago, Jandira beat colon cancer after undergoing surgery, using a colostomy bag and undergoing chemotherapy. In May 2026, new tests indicated a new primary cancer, without metastasis. Jandira was hospitalized to treat an obstruction in her intestine, a consequence of the return of colon cancer. According to her granddaughter, she was admitted to Hospital Beneficência Portuguesa because the colostomy bag she was using stopped working and she was experiencing severe abdominal pain. She was admitted to the Emergency Room at Hospital Beneficência Portuguesa on June 7, 2026, at 2:44 pm, and remained in the emergency room in an observation bed. While she was hospitalized to resolve the obstruction, she was waiting for the medical team to decide on treatment. 3. Which surgery was performed by mistake? On the night of June 8, Jandira underwent an endoscopic gastrostomy, a procedure that involves opening a hole in the stomach wall to place a feeding or drainage tube. According to Fernando Maluf, co-founder of Instituto Vencer o Câncer, this procedure is indicated for: treating tumors in the abdominal region, but not necessarily in the intestine patients with head and neck cancer, when inflammation caused by radiotherapy or chemotherapy makes swallowing difficult palliative situations, when the patient is no longer able to eat orally The treatment of bowel cancer follows a different path. It involves removing the tumor and the tissue around the lesion. After surgery, staging is carried out, which assesses the extent of the disease. ?? It is this result, added to the type of tumor identified, that defines whether the patient will need complementary treatments, such as chemotherapy or immunotherapy. The decision varies according to each case. According to Jandira's family, in her case there had not yet been a decision on a course of action. She was hospitalized because of her worsening health condition, but there was no medical decision on how the cancer would be treated. 4. When was the error discovered? Patient undergoes surgery intended for someone else and dies 3 days later in hospital The switch was only discovered after the surgery, during the shift change, when staff noticed that the correct patient was still in the room and checked Jandira's identification bracelet. The surgery began at 6:45 pm and ended at 7:20 pm. Camila said that the family was called to a meeting with members of the hospital management after the incident — watch the family's full report above. "When we got there, there was the clinical director and the director of the surgical center. He said that this had never happened in his career and that my grandmother had been taken to the surgical center and had surgery in place of another patient," said the granddaughter. 5. What happened after the surgery? Medical records indicate that, on the morning of June 9, the elderly woman developed mental confusion, hypotension, a drop in oxygen saturation and changes in heart rate, and was transferred to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU). "She started returning this liquid that looked like feces and vomiting. [...] She started to have tachycardia, she started to have signs of sepsis right after the surgical process. It was then that her clinical condition deteriorated a lot", said the granddaughter. The medical team began to investigate hypotheses such as sepsis and pulmonary thromboembolism. So, family members and doctors decided to adopt palliative care, without invasive measures. Jandira died at 7:30 pm on June 11, three days after undergoing the procedure by mistake. 6. What does the family say? In her first statement, the granddaughter stated that she would take legal action to hold those involved accountable and demand changes to the hospital's security protocols to prevent the error from being repeated with other people. The family registered the case with the Civil Police