Infant's arm amputation case at KEM: No medical negligence, says hospital panel

Mumbai: Investigating the allegations of medical negligence in the treatment of a two-and-a-half-month-old infant whose right hand had to be amputated to save his complete hand, a four-member internal committee has given a clean chit to the doctors of the King Edward Memorial (KEM) Hospital. 

According to the preliminary report submitted by the panel, the doctors were not negligent, as the baby tested positive for protein C deficiency, a rare disorder that causes abnormal blood clotting. However, the final report is yet to be submitted.

The four-member internal committee includes Dr Harish Pathak, academic dean and head of the forensic medicine department, Dr Mohan Desai, professor and head of the orthopaedic department, Dr Sunil Karande, professor and head of the paediatric department and Dr Anjali Rajadhaksha, professor of medicine department. 

Also read- Forceps Left Inside Patient's Abdomen At GMC Kozhikode In 2017: Police To Arrest Doctors, Teachers' Association Oppose Move

After looking at the sensitivities and the complaints of the parents, BMC's additional municipal commissioner (Health) Dr Sudhakar Shinde felt the need to constitute the committee to investigate the case. 

“It is the preliminary report and there are some more tests which have to be done before jumping to any conclusions. But it is clear that the baby has a rare disorder which leads to thrombosis,” said a doctor. Thrombosis is a blood clot within blood vessels that limits the flow of blood.

“The baby's blood sample was sent for testing, which revealed a deficiency of protein C, which is congenital. Patients with this condition have a higher propensity to develop disseminated intravascular coagulation or venous thromboembolism, which may comprise the initial presentation of the disease. The tests will be repeated after four weeks as such patients have to live on anticoagulants for a lifetime as the person is always prone to thrombosis anywhere in the body," added the doctor.

The baby was born after six months and 10 days of gestation and weighed 1.26kg. He was admitted to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) in KEM Hospital and was put on an intravenous (IV) drip. After a few days, he was also diagnosed with enterococcal meningitis, a severe bacterial infection, that needed heavy antibiotics given through IV. 

Within a few hours of starting the IV, doctors noticed bluish discolouration of the child's fingers. Investigations revealed that the child had a blood clot in the arteries. Despite doctors from multiple specialities involved in his care, the affected hand developed gangrene (dead tissues due to lack of blood flow or bacterial infection) and needed amputation.

The baby is currently under constant observation and kept on a ventilator as he has pneumonia.

It has emerged that the parents of the infant are dissatisfied with the report and alleged that the negligence of the doctors resulted in their son's arm being amputated. They also claimed that the committee is favouring the doctors. 

The infant's father, Rahul Chavan informed FPJ "It is hard to believe that there was no medical negligence that led to the amputation. It is excruciating to see my baby suffering since birth. We want him to get well soon and take him home. My wife had immediately informed the on-duty doctor about the child’s hand turning blue on July 15, but nothing was done, which clearly shows negligence of doctors and staff,” he said. 

Also read- Cotton Left Inside Patient's Abdomen During C-Section: Govt Doctor Suspended For Alleged Medical Negligence