Family Alleges Possible Medical Negligence at Cancun IMSS After Year of Hospitalizations

Cancun, Quintana Roo — The wife of a man hospitalized at a Mexican Social Security Institute (IMSS) facility in Cancun is accusing the agency of medical negligence, saying a perforated intestine went undetected for months during more than a year of repeated treatments and hospitalizations.

Diana Chin said her husband, Santos Chan Ek, began experiencing dizziness, extreme fatigue, vomiting and diarrhea in August 2025. According to Chin, he was admitted to IMSS General Hospital Zone No. 3 more than 10 times and received the same diagnosis each time: a stomach infection.

By February 2026, doctors had ordered an endoscopy and a colonoscopy, but Chin said the appointments were scheduled months away. On April 30, Chan Ek was hospitalized again and underwent an abdominal CT scan. She said the family was told the results would be sent to Mexico City for analysis, but later they were informed that “everything was fine,” and he was discharged.

His health kept deteriorating. With no answers from IMSS, Chin said she paid for a private gastroenterologist consultation on May 20. The specialist found a buildup of pus, an intestinal perforation and problems with his appendix and told him he needed emergency surgery. The doctor advised him to return to IMSS.

Chan Ek had surgery at the IMSS hospital. Complications after the operation required a colostomy and, later, an ileostomy, according to his wife. He then developed difficulty walking, dizziness, fainting, a Candida infection and kidney problems. At one point, the family was told his kidneys had stopped working and he needed urgent dialysis. But when they arrived at another IMSS unit, she said, doctors told them his kidneys were functioning better than previously reported and that the main issue was an infection.

After receiving treatment, Chan Ek was released and improved for a few days. On August 21, he had trouble breathing and was taken by ambulance to IMSS General Hospital Zone No. 3, where doctors diagnosed sepsis and later septic shock. In the following days, he suffered hallucinations, swelling and disorientation, at times failing to recognize his wife.

Chin said new tests again found fungi in his urinary tract. She said she showed hospital staff a previous endoscopy report that documented the presence of fungi. On August 28, doctors tried to perform another endoscopy but could not complete it, and fungi were found in his esophagus. The family asked that he receive treatment for the infection.

The next day, a doctor told Chin that her husband was in a very serious condition and could die that night, she said. He suffered two critical episodes early on August 30 but was stabilized by medical personnel. On August 31, after a change in his internist, his condition slightly improved.

On September 5, Chan Ek woke with a cough, phlegm, chest pain and shortness of breath. Chin said she asked several times during the day for someone to examine him. The family was later informed that his hemoglobin had dropped to 3.5 and he needed an urgent transfusion. After she contacted the hospital’s deputy director, the transfusion began around 8:25 p.m.

Chan Ek remains hospitalized.

Chin is asking authorities to review her husband’s full medical record to determine whether negligence or error occurred. She wants to know why the intestinal perforation was not detected earlier, why it was identified only during a private consultation, and why the family received conflicting information about his kidneys and infections. She said she does not want money, only answers, and plans to file complaints with the IMSS internal oversight body, the IMSS’s office in Quintana Roo and the National Human Rights Commission.

“I just want my husband’s case investigated and his entire medical record reviewed. I don’t want another family to go through this,” Chin said.