Hyderabad: A premature infant admitted to a government hospital in Khammam lost his left arm to gangrene after medical staff repeatedly dismissed warning signs over several days, family has alleged.
The case came to light on Saturday prompting the Telangana Human Rights Commission to take suo-motu cognisance the same day.
Twin boys, unequal chances
According to the reports, the baby is one of twin boys born on March 3 to Renuka and Satyakanth of Punyapuram village, Vayra mandal, Khammam district.
Renuka was seven months pregnant at the time of delivery. While the first twin weighed a healthy 3 kg, the second was born at just 1.2 kg. Unable to afford continued private care, the family admitted the smaller infant to the Government Mother and Child Welfare Centre in Khammam on March 4. A relative, Chirra Vijayakumari, stayed with the baby while Renuka remained at the private hospital with the other twin.
A swelling dismissed
The infant was placed in an incubator and given blood transfusions over the following days.
Eighteen days into the treatment, Vijayakumari noticed swelling at the site on the baby’s left hand where a cannula had been inserted. She flagged it to the duty doctor. According to the reports, the doctor examined it briefly and dismissed it as nothing, prescribing an ointment.
Three days passed. The swelling did not subside. The hand began turning black. When the family raised the alarm again, staff told them it was an elbow swelling and asked them to get a private scan done. The scan results were alarming: the infant’s hand had no movement, tissue had begun dying and gangrene had set in.
Sent to Hyderabad, too late
According to the reports, instead of initiating emergency treatment, staff at the Mother and Child Welfare Centre told the family that doctors at Niloufer Hospital in Hyderabad would resolve the problem easily.
On the night of March 26, the baby was sent to Hyderabad by ambulance.
At Niloufer, doctors found the infection had spread beyond the point of recovery. The only option was amputation. The parents, devastated and left with no choice, gave their consent. Surgeons removed the infant's entire left arm up to the shoulder. The baby remained at Niloufer until May 12 before being discharged.
What the family alleges
The family believes the crisis was triggered by the placement of the cannula in the armpit area, which they say caused the infection. They allege that had the swelling been taken seriously when first reported, the amputation could have been avoided.
Human Rights Commission steps in
The case became public only when Andhra Jyothi reported it on May 31.
Hours later, Telangana Human Rights Commission member Shivadi Praveena took suo-motu cognisance, observing that the allegations raise serious concerns about a newborn’s rights to life, health and dignity. The Commission has directed the District Medical and Health Officer (DMHO), Khammam, to submit a detailed report, with the matter scheduled for hearing on June 29.