Wrong-leg surgery at Nuh Hospital: Doctors, ultrasound staff warned

Nuh: A committee investigating the alleged surgery on the wrong leg of a four-year-old boy at Shaheed Hasan Khan Mewati (SHKM) Government Medical College and Hospital has submitted its report, following which hospital authorities issued warnings to the doctors and ultrasound staff involved for negligence, officials said on Tuesday.

Medical Dialogues had earlier reported that a four-year-old child was allegedly operated on the wrong leg at Shaheed Hasan Khan Mewati Government Medical College in Nuh, Haryana, after being admitted for an abscess requiring surgery on his left leg. 

The child's family had alleged that doctors mistakenly operated on his right leg instead, an error that reportedly came to light only after he was shifted out of the operation theatre. Following the family's complaint, the hospital administration constituted a four-member inquiry committee to investigate the matter. 

The committee found that the surgery had been performed by junior doctors and postgraduate students. It also found that the ultrasound report had incorrectly listed the "right leg" instead of the "left leg", which hospital authorities attributed to a typographical error.

The doctors, along with the ultrasound staff, had been issued warnings for negligence based on the committee's recommendations, said SHKM director Mukesh Kumar. He added that asking the family whether they wished to pursue the matter further was part of standard investigation protocol, and denied that any pressure had been placed on them. "No one pressurised the family. They were free to take their own decision," he added. 

The action follows a written complaint by the child's father to the Nuh deputy commissioner, in which he alleged that the hospital's medical board had asked him to settle the matter internally. According to health officials, the father alleged in his letter that the medical board had asked him to compromise and settle the matter internally, Hindustan Times reported.

The deputy commissioner said he had not personally seen the letter but would coordinate with the chief medical officer, adding that appropriate action would be taken if any wrongdoing was found.

According to the Daily, the child's father had earlier alleged that the surgeon acknowledged the mistake before operating on the correct leg, telling him there was "nothing to worry about" and that the matter would be looked into, following which the family submitted a written complaint to the hospital's medical administration.