In an alleged case of gross negligence, a patient undergoing aortic root replacement surgery was severely burnt below the left knee, and also developed blisters on his right leg.
In an alleged case of gross negligence, a patient undergoing aortic root replacement surgery was severely burnt below the left knee, and also developed blisters on his right leg. Moreover, the hospital slapped him with the bill for his treatment.
Savio Freitas, 34, was admitted in Lilavati Hospital on February 9, 2012, after complaining of sudden blackouts, giddiness and retrosternal pain.
He underwent surgery on February 12.
“We were already tense due to the three days’ delay in surgery. Post surgery, we were shocked to see the burnt left leg, the blisters in the right leg and damaged nerve,” said Preeti, Savio’s wife, who had accompanied him all the way from Jaipur to the city for treatment.
“After the operation, I was unable to walk properly or sleep, and was in deep pain due to the leg burning,” recalled Savio. “I have even lost control on my left toes, as the nerve is damaged.”
“This has put our survival into question, since Savio is not able to even raise his leg. He is completely dependent on a splint. But his work demands a lot of movement as he is a behavioural trainer. His future has been affected because of the leg.”
Savio and Preeti made many attempts to contact Dr Suresh Joshi, who operated on him, and other top hospital authorities, to find out what went wrong.
“Despite our repeated attempts, we have received confusing replies. While the incident report states that the patient is injured, another report says that the patient has no cautery burns. But the plastic surgeon’s report clearly talks of the full thickness of the eschar (dead tissue) and the peroneal nerve palsy,” said Preeti.
“The doctors informed us in the beginning that the cost of the heart surgery would be approximately Rs10lakh, but took Rs11.77lakh from us. Now we are of the view that the hospital might have charged us the extra for the leg treatment, since they did not reimburse the difference,” she added.
When DNA contacted the official spokesperson of Lilavati Hospital, Mohan Rajan, he said he would look into the issue and get back. But when he was contacted later, he refused to take the calls.
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