Home » Kerala » Yet Another Mix Up In Surgery At Kerala Government Hospital Patient Says Wrong Implant Inserted In His Hand

Kerala patient alleges he was fitted with wrong implant during surgery, hospital says claim is ‘baseless’

A doctor at the Kozhikode hospital was suspended a few days back after the wrong surgery was allegedly performed on a four-year-old girl

ByPTI

Published May 19, 2024 | 3:25 PM ⚊ Updated May 19, 2024 | 6:33 PM

Mix up during a surgery in Kerala government hospital

Representative photo of a surgery being performed

Allegations of medical negligence continue to haunt the Government Medical College Hospital in Kerala’s Kozhikode, with a man complaining to the police on Saturday, 18 May alleging that an implant meant for another patient was wrongly inserted into his broken hand.

The fresh allegations surfaced just days after a doctor was suspended for allegedly operating on the tongue of a four-year-old girl, instead of surgically removing the child’s sixth finger.

Dismissing the allegations as “baseless,” the hospital said that the patient was given the standard treatment and surgery typically administered for this type of fracture.

FIR lodged

An officer of the Medical College police station said an FIR is being lodged over the alleged mix-up that took place at the Medical College Hospital on Saturday.

“The man has raised some suspicions regarding his surgery. A detailed investigation is required to ascertain the claim in the complaint,” the officer told PTI.

The man was admitted to the Government Medical College Hospital for surgery after being referred from the Beach Hospital (Government General Hospital), where he was admitted following a road accident.

The error in the treatment was reportedly detected in an X-ray after the surgery.

Also Read: Amoebic meningoencephalitis confirmed in 5-year-old boy being treated at Kozhikode medical college

Botched surgery on a child?

Just a few days earlier, on 16 May, a doctor of the same government hospital was suspended after the wrong surgery was allegedly performed on a four-year-old girl at the Government Medical College Hospital in the district.

The child had been scheduled for surgery to remove a sixth finger on her hand at the Maternal and Child Care Centre of the Medical College Hospital, instead of which an operation was performed on her tongue mistakenly.

The girl’s family had alleged that the error came to light when they discovered cotton stuffed in the child’s mouth post-surgery, prompting them to investigate further. Upon closer inspection, they found that the surgery had been performed on her tongue, not on her hand as intended.

Expressing shock over the incident, Leader of the Opposition in the Kerala Assembly VD Satheesan had said it was “serious medical malpractice” and sought strict disciplinary action against those responsible for it.

Related: Kerala doctor suspended after operating on child’s tongue instead of finger

(Disclaimer: The headline, subheads, and intro of this report along with the photos may have been reworked by South First. The rest of the content is from a syndicated feed, and has been edited for style.)