Surgery Goof-up! Thane doctors allegedly perform circumcision instead of leg surgery, investigation underway

Shahapur: In an alleged case of medical negligence, doctors at a government-run hospital in Maharashtra's Thane district allegedly performed circumcision on a 9-year-old boy instead of leg surgery. Following the complaint made by the minor's parents, the civil surgeon initiated an inquiry into the incident. 

According to the PTI report, the incident took place at Thane Civil Hospital on June 15 when the family admitted the 9-year-old boy to the hospital for treatment of a leg injury.

The  patient's parents have lodged a complaint with the police, alleging that doctors at a government-run hospital performed surgery on his private parts instead of treating an injured leg. Following their allegation, a health official assured an inquiry into the episode, and the police said they are carrying out a probe, reports TOI.

Speaking to PTI, the minor's parents said, "The boy suffered an injury on his leg while he was playing with his friends last month. He was admitted to the sub-district hospital in Shahapur on June 15 and was undergoing treatment. The doctors recently performed a circumcision surgery on his private part instead of the injured leg."

Medical officer at the hospital, Gajendra Pawar, told PTI that besides his leg injury, the boy also had a problem of phimosis (tight foreskin). "We had to carry out two operations," he said. As regards informing the parents about the second operation, he said the doctors might have forgotten to tell them or they might have told the other relatives of the patient. What the doctors did was right and there was nothing wrong in it, adds the news agency PTI.

But the parents refused to accept the explanation given by the doctors, Pawar said. On the same day, two patients from the same age group underwent surgery at the hospital, doctors said.

Meanwhile, after the family's complaint, activists from the city have taken up the issue and demanded that action be taken against the doctor responsible for the alleged operation mix-up, reports TOI.