Death of 26-year-old Man Following Bariatric Surgery: Chennai Hospital sealed, Registration temporarily cancelled

Chennai: A private hospital in Pammel has been sealed and its registration has been temporarily cancelled as per the Tamil Nadu Clinical Establishment Rules, 2018 due to alleged deficiencies, lack of unqualified medical professionals and inadequate medical facilities after a 26-year-old man passed away during a bariatric surgery.

It was revealed that the patient had suffered cardiac arrest within an hour after undergoing the procedure but was only given first aid for treatment as the hospital lacked high-end equipment to treat patients in emergencies. 

The closure of the hospital was ordered by the Directorate of Medical and Rural Health Services, following a report submitted by the inquiry team formed by the health department after the deceased's parents made allegations of medical negligence.

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In addition to the alleged shortcomings and insufficient resources for emergencies at the hospital, the doctors have also come under fire for conducting surgeries in a place without proper medical facilities. Furthermore, it was discovered that the nurses assisting the surgeons were unqualified and lacked proper training.

Following this, the government ordered the Tamil Nadu Medical Council to take appropriate action against the erring doctors who performed the surgery aided by unqualified and untrained staff nurses.

The incident occurred after the patient, a resident of Puducherry was admitted to the hospital on April 21. The next day he was taken to the operation theatre for surgery at 8.45 a.m. During the surgery, the patient suffered cardiac arrest at 9.45 am. Due to a lack of high-end equipment like Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation, he was shifted to Rela Hospital after an hour of delay at 11.35 a.m.

At Rela Hospital, the patient was put on VA-ECMO (Ven-arterial ECMO) at 6.10 p.m. the same day after several attempts to improve his condition failed. Later, his condition deteriorated and he died at 9.05 pm on April 23, The Hindu reports. 

Following this, the parents of the deceased filed a medical negligence complaint. In the complaint, his parents alleged that the patient had first consulted Dr *** at Rela Hospital on April 12, 2023, for obesity treatment. He weighed 145.5 kg and was advised for laparoscopic gastric bypass surgery and diet. Since the patient initially planned to undergo bariatric surgery at Rela Hospital, he consented to the procedure a year later on April 6.

While discussing the packages for the surgery, the parents and the patient were informed that the surgery would cost around Rs 6 lakh - 8 lakh at the Rela hospital. However, due to financial restraints, the parents were hesitant. At that time, Dr *** informed them it would cost Rs 3 lakh - 4 lakh at BP Jain Hospital in Pammal. Moreover, Dr *** also told them BP Jain Hospital has all the necessary medical facilities and equipment, the same as Rela Hospital. 

Taking note of the complaint, Director of Medical Services Dr R Elango Maheswaran directed a team of officials, headed by the Additional Director (Planning and Development), to conduct a surprise inspection at B.P. Jain Hospital on May 3. The committee found several deficiencies during the inspection which were revealed in a press release. 

According to a press release by the state health department, “The surgery was performed with untrained, non-qualified staff nurses. There was a one-hour delay in shifting the patient to Rela Hospital after he suffered a cardiac arrest. Consent was also not obtained from the patient's parents prior to the surgery. The hospital did not have any ICU doctors, general physicians or cardiologists on duty when the surgery was performed, nor did it possess any high-end equipment such as an ECMO."

As per a TOI news report, Dr R Elango Maheswaran said, “The hospital has been asked to shift inpatients to another hospital. The registration given to the hospital has been cancelled, so they cannot admit new patients."

Further, he added, “It is important to explain the risks and side effects of surgeries to all patients and take written consent from them. There was nothing wrong with the surgical technique. But during the surgery, when the patient went into cardiac arrest, there were no intensivists, general physicians or cardiologists to deal with the emergency."

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