Colombo, Sri Lanka – 5th May, 2018: Medical negligence at a private hospital located just outside Colombo has resulted in a young woman ending up with major complications, including a damaged kidney.
The family of the 20 year old woman has accused the private hospital of failing in their duties resulting in their daughter having to suffer and the family having to pay a huge medical bill.
The family of Mishka Soleil Fernando, a resident of Hunupitiya, said that their daughter had visited the private hospital for a routine laparoscopy in late March.
“My daughter went in for a routine laparoscopy and came out with a damaged kidney, ureter and bladder. A doctor without our consent has taken her appendix out during the surgery. She ended up with three surgeries in one month,” Jeevani Fernando, mother of Mishka Soleil Fernando told The Sunday Leader.
Mishka is an HND Student in Psychology at ICBT Colombo and also represented Sri Lanka at the Theatre Olympics in India in March 2018 she is a student counsellor and primary science tutor at the International Campus for Languages, Management and Technology (Pvt) Ltd. Sri Lanka.
She is also a freelance writer and blogger and has not had any previous health issues except for common colds and abdominal cramps during her menstrual cycle.
On 25th March 2018 she developed severe abdominal cramps during her regular menstrual cycle and was taken to the private hospital by her family.
A scan performed by the radiologist revealed that both her kidneys were normal and that there was no renal calculi, renal mass or hydronephrosis.
Upon family recommendation, Dr. Sampath Rodrigo was consulted and the patient was advised by him to perform Diagnostic Laparoscopy. The family was not advised of any other doctor’s involvement in the surgery.
A surgery was performed immediately under General Anaesthesia (without bowel preparations).
The patient was later transferred to a ward with a catheter and drain pipe. Painkillers, antibiotics and saline was administered via and she was discharged on 26th March 2018 with medicine to be administered at home.
On 28th March she developed severe vomiting, abdominal pains and had loose motions.
She was taken to hospital the next day referred to a doctor who had apparently removed the girl’s appendix during the earlier surgery without the knowledge of the patient or her family.
“Had the patient and the family known or been told that the doctor would be removing the patient’s appendix, they could have made an informed decision to request another surgeon. This withholding of information caused great anxiety and alarm for the patient and the family, leading to suspicion of bowel perforation or any other medical mishap that led to post-surgery complications,” a note by the family said.
After a second operation the girl was placed in the ICU for four hours and transferred to the ward on the same night. She was discharged on 3rd April 2018 with oral antibiotics.
On 18th April 2018 she complained of pain during urination which developed to blood in the urine with an onset of acute pain in her right lower abdomen and right back. She was taken to hospital but after a scan she was discharged.
On 24th April 2018 she was readmitted to the same private hospital with severe lower right abdominal and back pain along with blood in her urine.
She continued to suffer from various complications over the next few days and the final diagnosis noted possible inflammation due to stone or trauma to the bladder and ureter due to previous surgeries (use of laparoscopic method). It was also noted that if there is no improvement a stent insertion will be required.
Jeevani Fernando said that her otherwise healthy and active daughter, who went in for a routine gynaecological intervention to the private hospital was operated on by a doctor other than the doctor recommended by the family and who was not of good repute and consequentially has returned home with a damaged kidney, ureter and bladder after repeated invasive procedures within a period of one month.
The family is of the opinion that the hospital should offer compensation to the family for the condition of the patient, who is still not out of danger and whose health is still at risk, despite many interventions. As of now, the patient’s family has paid medical bills of over Rs. 730,000.
The parents say they had set aside the funds for their daughter’s higher education but have now been forced to put her education aside.
Source: http://www.thesundayleader.lk/2018/05/05/medical-negligence-patient-ends-up-with-damaged-kidney/