CHENNAI: A 46-year-old woman, who underwent a weight-loss surgery at a private hospital in Chennai, died early on Saturday. Her relatives alleged that the death was due to medical negligence and filed a police complaint. A Valarmathi of Tiruvannamalai district had gone to ‘Lifeline’ hospital in Kilpauk for obesity treatment along with her son and two daughters.
“We saw an advertisement for treating obesity and approached the hospital. Dr J S Rajkumar suggested bariatric surgery,” said Azhagesan, Valar-mathi’s husband. “We agreed, and all four underwent surgery on August 26. My wife developed complicat-ions, was admitted to the ICU for nearly a month, and underwent nine more surgeries. Around 1.30 am on Saturday, the doctor declared her dead.”
Family hid info, says doc
Asserting that the family was briefed about the risks of surgery,
Dr Rajkumar said the family didn’t disclose that Valarmathi required ventilator dependence a few years ago
A weight-loss surgery at ‘Lifeline’ hospital in Kilpauk kicked up a controversy after the patient died on Saturday. “Noting that my wife weighed over 150 kg, my son Sathish Kumar (26) 130 kg, my elder daughter Saranya (24) 122 kg and my younger daughter Sangeetha (21) 97 kg, Dr J S Rajkumar recommended that all four undergo the surgery under the Chief Minister’s Health Insurance Scheme,” said Azhagesan, Valarmathi’s husband.
“All four underwent surgery on August 26. My son and daughters are fine but my wife developed complications,”he added. For his part, Dr Rajkumar said: “Valarmathi underwent extensive pre-operative work up and was supervised by the lung specialist, anaesthetist and general physician. Throughout the procedure, we explained to the family about the possible risks of surgery and anaesthesia.
We mitigated these risks by pre-operative preparation. Despite efforts in the post-operative period, Valarmathi’s lungs progressively went into Adult Respiratory Distress Syndrome (a severe lung condition). “An important fact that was kept away from the knowledge of the hospital was that she had been admitted to CMC Vellore and required ventilator dependence a few years ago,” Dr Rajkumar added.