Ulyanovsk, Russia – 11th April, 2018: In a horrific case of medical negligence, a woman being treated at a Russian hospital died after being accidentally given a fatal dose of formaldehyde used for embalming corpses instead of saline after an operation, CNN reported on 11 April. Formaldehyde is often used for embalming bodies.
A senior doctor, Vladimir Demin, was sacked for the fatal error.
Ekaterina Fedyaeva, 28, had been undergoing surgery for the removal of an ovarian cyst. Doctors in Ulyanovsk tried to save Fedyaeva for four days by trying to “flush out her abdominal cavity,” CNN quoted TASS as saying. She was later transferred to a top hospital in Moscow from Ulyanovsk.
She died of multiple organ failure on 5 April at a Moscow hospital’s intensive care unit despite having recovered from a coma after three weeks, the CNN report added.
Ulyanovsk Health Minister Rashid Abdullov revealed that the hospital staffers “concealed the mistake for 24 hours” and that timely action should have been taken, Radio Free Europe reported.
The personnel at the Ulyanovsk hospital will be prosecuted for the patient’s death and could face imprisonment for up to three years if found guilty.
Source: https://www.thequint.com/news/world/woman-embalmed-alive-dies-at-russian-hospital-formaldehyde