In a serious case of medical negligence, a seven-year-old boy who was supposed to undergo a surgery for removing a growth in the nose was operated for hernia.
The incident occurred at the government medical college hospital in Malappuram district of North Kerala. Consultant surgeon A Suresh Kumar was suspended from service in this connection on Wednesday.
The similarity in the names of two child patients was cited to be the reason for the serious negligence.
Mohammed Danish, son of Majeed was supposed to undergo surgery for growth in the nose, while six-year-old Dhanush, son of Unnikrishnan of Mannarkad in Palakkad, was supposed to undergo surgery for hernia.
After Mohammed Danish's surgery was over his parents noticed dressing on the abdomen area and no dressing on the nose. As they inquired with the doctor, the doctor said that the boy was having hernia issue also. The serious goof-up came to light after the ENT surgeon turned up to perform the surgery to remove the growth in the nose.
The preliminary suspicion was that Mohammed Danish and Dhanush were scheduled for surgeries at the operation theatre at the same time. This led to serious negligence.
Kerala Health Minister K K Shylaja who ordered the suspension of the surgeon also assured that the government would ensure free of cost expert treatment to Mohammed Danish. The medical college principal informed that Danish's medical condition was satisfactory.