Flawed op costs patient kidney: Kathmandu

Flawed op costs patient kidney: Kathmandu
PHOTO: Flawed op costs patient kidney: Kathmandu

BHARATPUR - In what appears to be another incident of sheer negligence in a hospital, a doctor in Chitwan Medical College has been accused of unnecessarily removing a kidney from a patient.

Family and relatives of 75-year-old Tikadevi Lamichhane, who had been admitted in the medical college, said Dr Rajiv Shahi unnecessarily removed her left kidney while actually operating on her to remove an internal "blister" from her stomach.

Lamichhane, a resident of Bharatpur-10, had the "blister" between her left kidney and the spleen, Shahi had confirmed before the operation. She underwent surgery on September 27 and was discharged after a week.

"We were unaware of the removal of the kidney back then. We knew it three days ago during her follow-up," Shiva, the victim's son, said. He said Lamichhane was brought to the hospital three days ago after she complained of severe stomach pain.

On Monday, Lamichhane's relatives staged a demonstration on the hospital premises to protest the "carelessness" of the doctor involved in the treatment. They demanded strong action against the doctor and compensation to the victim.

Shiva claimed that an ultrasound report prior to the surgery clearly showed that the patient did not have any problem in her kidneys. "The doctors told us before the surgery that both her kidneys were normal. She just had the blister near her spleen," he claimed.

Associate professor and surgeon Dr Kishwor Kumar Tamrakar at the medical college, however, claimed that the doctor involved in the treatment was compelled to remove the kidney to save the patient's life. "There was no mistake in the treatment. It was just that the doctor failed to see that the blister was on the kidney," he said.

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