MADURAI: After a 24-year-old woman claimed that doctors at Government Rajaji Hospital (GRH) performed a tubectomy on her without consent, GRH Dean Dr A Rathinavel constituted a committee to conduct an inquiry into the issue. The woman, Ashika Banu of Melur, was admitted to the hospital around 12 am on Sunday for delivering her second child. Her mother and mother-in-law had accompanied the woman to the hospital.
“She delivered her first baby through a C-section at a different hospital. For her second childbirth, though we insisted on having a normal delivery, the doctors at GRH suggested a C-section surgery and advised getting a tubectomy along with it. We agreed upon the C-section but never tubectomy,” Ashika Banu’s mother said.
On Monday, Ashika delivered a baby girl through C-section surgery that was performed around 5 am. “After 8 am, I was shifted from to the ward, following which a nurse told me that the doctors had also performed a tubectomy on me. Shocked and depressed, I informed my family, who were then kept waiting for a couple of hours before being given an explanation for the procedure,” Ashika Banu said.
The doctors later explained to her family members that the surgery was done only because she had ‘hydrosalpinx’ (a condition which affects fallopiantubes as fluid forms in them, creating a block between ovaries and uterus). “My family was not convinced and asked the doctors how they could perform the surgery without my or my family’s consent. I have been wanting a baby boy, but that does not seem possible now,” she added.
Ashika’s husband Akhtar Husain (31) said his wife did not have any health complications before going into labour. “We opted for GRH hoping that she will have a normal delivery but it turned out to be a tragedy for us,” he said, adding that they have filed a complaint to GRH Dean Dr A Rathinavel.
Commenting on the issue, Head of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology in GRH Dr N Sumathi said Dr Rathinavel has constituted a committee to address the issue. “A report will be submitted to the Directorate of Medical Education after interrogating the duty doctor, nurses, and other staff, including the patient’s attender at the time of the incident. The patient, if willing, can also give her statement. Further action will be taken based on the report,” she said.