Heartbreaking Journey: How a Routine Surgery Turned Tragic for My Wife in Chennai

Dear Friends,

I know the following is going to be time-consuming, but whenever you're free, please read through this article which is real but true. Never miss till the end. I swear you will feel the impact towards the end.

TAKE A DEEP BREATH...

This is not a philosophical statement on one's life after death; this is about how my wife, Padma, died in a hospital in Chennai. Whatever I have seen only in movies so far is experienced by me.

We were living in the UK for a few years; our family includes me, my wife (Padma), and our 7-year-old son and 8-month-old daughter. My wife had a symptom of ventral hernia (slightly bulged abdomen). We consulted a General Physician and Surgeon in the UK, and the advice was that she needed surgery to have a mesh to fix the problem with a few weeks of rest. We were also told that this is not an emergency and it can be done anytime, though earlier is good. In fact, the surgeon whom we consulted in the UK talked about an example of a lady having this done for 30 years of the symptom. My wife did not have any specific pain or something except a small discomfort of a bulgy abdomen (like a 2-month pregnant lady), and she was in her normal routine of taking care of our children, taking our son to school, household work, etc.

We were planning for a Christmas vacation in India in Dec 2007. We thought we would consult some 'good' doctors in India and take a decision on when to do the surgery if required. We felt doing it in India is good because of family support. We got a reference to Dr. J S Rajkumar of Lifeline hospital and booked an appointment to meet him.

We landed in Chennai on 14th Dec 2007 for a three weeks vacation, met Dr. Rajkumar at his city hospital (Rigid hospital) in Chetput on 15th Dec 2007 (Sat) at about 7:30 pm. We explained to him the background, showed him all the comments of the UK surgeon, medical reports related to my wife's pregnancy, deliveries, etc. After a few minutes of assessment, Dr. Rajkumar told us this hernia requires laparoscopic surgery, and we can do this the next day itself. We were a little concerned initially about getting this surgery done the very next day (particularly we were still not out of jet lag, and she was feeding our baby) and got convinced with the 'salesy' words given by the Doctors. To quote a comment from the Doctor 'she will run in two days' time and can lift two suitcases, and you can return to the UK as per your plan on 3rd Jan 2008. Also, Dr. Rajkumar told us that he would be on travel for 3 days from 17th Dec, and moreover, he was teaching Post Graduates on 16th Dec about laparoscopic surgery and let us get it done on 16th Dec.

Then my wife was put into all sorts of equipment in the hospital (in the name of assessment); blood, urine, ECG, MRI, and so on, and the tests were conducted until about 11 pm on 15th Dec. In fact, they opened the labs after closing hours and got the test done and handed over the test results to us. They had some problem with the ECG, and we were told that the ECG could be done the next day at Lifeline hospital.

We were asked to report to Rigid hospital at 5 am in the morning. Think of it, we went to our residence around midnight, and my wife had a rush on some food to keep compliance with the fasting 8 hrs prior to surgery. After preparing for the hospital visit that night and a couple of hours of sleep (3 hrs or so), we reached Rigid hospital on 16th morning at 5 am or so, and from there, we were transported by an 'ambulance' to Lifeline hospital in Perungudi (outskirts of Chennai).

We reached the hospital at 6:30 am, paid some initial advance for the surgery, and we were given a room. Padma went through some more basic checks like height, weight, etc. Padma was taken to the operation theatre at about 10 am on the morning of 16th Dec. After the laparoscopic procedure, she was moved to the postoperative ward at about 12 noon, and I met her in the afternoon to say a small hello when she gained consciousness. Dr. Rajkumar met us on 16th Dec afternoon, and he, in fact, congratulated me for the successful surgery and said he had used proceed mesh (costly one) and advised his staff to move Padma to the normal ward in the evening as she had to feed her baby. But, Padma was moved to the normal ward only on 17th Dec morning; she was on IV fluids as per normal postoperative procedure.

Padma started to develop some fluids in her abdomen, which duty doctors/surgeons have 'rightly' observed. She was put through a series of tests on 17th, 18th, 19th, and 20th - tests included multiple ultrasounds, multiple CT scans, pricked her abdomen and taken fluids, she had a long tube through her nose overnight to collect fluid for tests, etc. We were told the fluid is normal after surgery, and it will be alright after she passes stool, etc.

In the meanwhile, Dr. Rajkumar returned from his travel and saw Padma on 19th on 20th Dec evening along with other surgeons. He made an assessment, and he told me that he might want to do one more laparoscopic surgery to find out what the fluid is about. He wanted to do surgery on 20th Dec evening itself, but he could not proceed as the hospital had given solid food that afternoon; hence anesthesia could not be given. (lack of coordination among departments, time lost here, maybe she could have survived if they had done the surgery on 20th itself).

On 20th Dec night, fluid started oozing from Padma's abdomen stitches. After the duty Doctor's assessment, she was shifted to the ICU. We really did not know what complication she developed in the ICU.

On 21st Dec (Friday) morning around 8:30 am, I was called into the ICU to convey that they are going to perform surgery, and I had to sign 'high-risk consent'. They were telling this in front of my wife (just think of a patient hearing this before surgery). I was just shocked at that and had no options but to sign whatever they wanted. I said 'all the best' (my last conversation with my wife) to my wife, and she was taken to the Operation Theatre.

While I was discussing with the Doctors at the ICU, the cashier in the hospital kept on calling me on my mobile. When I met the cashier, he asked for Rs. 60,000 to be paid immediately, and I told him to take Rs. 40,000 and I will give you the balance later in the day. Bang, a reply came, 'you have to pay the money to give clearance for surgery'. When I expressed my unhappiness about the comment, he insisted for me to sign a piece of paper saying that I will give the money later in the day. (What money-minded, inhuman attitude!)

We had no news from the hospital on their own about the surgery. I had enquired with the staff nurse and visited my wife in the ICU and learned that she had a diagnostic laparotomy (open surgery), and there was a hole in the intestine which was fixed.

We met Dr. Rajkumar at about 3:30 pm on 21st Dec and understood that there was a duodenum rupture, and he has fixed it. At the same time, he removed the mesh which was fixed on 16th Dec. She was also paralyzed and put on a ventilator as she was waking up. He explained it was between life-threatening and beauty so they addressed the duodenum rupture problem. What puzzled us were, how did the rupture happen? For that explanation given were:

- it could be due to an ulcer. My wife had no evidence of an ulcer in the past. Explanation given was 40%+ cases of an ulcer are silent, and there will be no symptoms.

- it could be due to postoperative stress.

On the same night (21st Dec) at about 9:30 pm, I was called into the ICU, and Doctors conveyed that my wife's condition is critical - her pulse is high, BP is low, and they were attending to her. I insisted on talking to Dr. Rajkumar immediately, but they refused to connect me to him at first and finally managed to speak to him. Dr. Rajkumar came in around midnight and explained that the lungs are getting affected, and she was the most serious patient in the whole hospital at that time, and they were trying their best. He also said, it will need another 12-24 hours of observation before they can say anything.

We were completely panicked and just waiting outside the ICU and praying for Padma's recovery. We had to argue with the security outside the ICU to gain access to the Doctors to know her situation.

At about 4:30 am in the morning, my friend gained access to the Doctors in the ICU and came out with a low face to tell me that Padma's condition had worsened. Again I tried to reach Dr. Rajkumar, and the hospital says they don't have his contact number. Finally, after some hue and cry, Dr. Rajkumar came online to tell me that he is not God and don't think his visit can do

Hi Jun! My deepest condolences to the said family. I haven't got the words to say what I feel after reading this. It's totally a case of doctors' negligence - a failure to exercise the level of skill, care, and prudence necessary to prevent patient injury. Very often in today's society, we tend to believe that doctors are infallible and perhaps somehow superhuman. We assume that every doctor we encounter knows everything: every condition, every treatment, and every consequence of treatment, but reality is something very ugly.

Nowadays, most of the doctors fail to understand the "pulse" of the patient but try to understand the "purse".

It is really a sad incident. Cruel negligence of the hospital and doctors is clearly behind this tragedy. They must be punished for this. I have no words to say to the victim's family. Jun! Thanks for sharing. We must take care of the things Jun suggested here.

Manoj

Ya guys, as you all said, it's something that every citizen should look upon. Anyways, thanks for your comments. Try to spread this awareness to everyone you know. At least let's do something from our end.

Dear June,

My deepest condolences to you and the family. I seriously feel that we should see these people behind bars or perform the same surgery on the entire team to make them realize their own blunders.

Please don't let things go like this. Approach the authorities and exercise your legal rights. Don't let them experiment and encash on others' lives. Please take a legal action...

Dear all,

Thank you for your valuable response. This has not happened to me or my family member (touch wood). It's only a forwarded message from one of my cousins who is settled in the UK. This is a real incident which was even reported in the daily newspapers The Hindu, Indian Express, etc. (you can refer to the dates mentioned as well). My cousin conducted all necessary research before forwarding this information. I believe the case is still ongoing, but I am not aware of the family involved. Maybe in due course, I will let you know.

Doctor in the dock for patient's death

There's in the news again. It is not the same hospital, but is it the same person??

Hi Mr. June V,

I'm sorry, but these doctors should be punished. Who knows tomorrow to whom they will target to make their money. They must be punished.

Take care.

SmitaR

My name is Chithra. I am a municipal councillor from Mogappair (west). I feel sorry for the guy. Although I have heard similar incidents, I have a lot of faith in Dr. JS Rajkumar from a personal experience. In fact, we had good experiences twice involving major cancer operations.

My mother, Saraswathi, was operated upon by Dr. JS Rajkumar at Rigid Hospital 9 years ago for cancer in the food pipe involving the lower part near the stomach. We consulted many surgeons before going to Dr. Rajkumar. Those doctors dilly-dallied a lot and were referring to many other places for investigations, tests, CT scan, etc. Nobody could give us a guarantee about the success of the operation. We were happy to find everything under one roof at Rigid Hospital as my mother could not travel much, and they got her ready for the operation very quickly. Our duration of further waiting and anxiety was shortened.

We explained our situation to the billing department that we may not be able to pay much as we had already spent a lot. They said the doctor had already told them to reduce the package as my mother was suffering for quite some time. The operation went on smoothly. Dr. removed the lower part of the food pipe and the upper part of the stomach and rejoined it. After the operation, my mother could not eat for some time. We were all worried about the tube in her nose. Slowly, the swelling in her stomach came down, and she was given water. She stayed in the hospital for two weeks. At one stage, the doctor said we may consider operating again if the swelling did not reduce, but it reduced with monitoring after a few days. By God's grace, she was fine, eating normally, and put on weight. We were all happy. Dr. further reduced our bill when we went home at our request. We regularly went to him for follow-up for some time and then stopped.

This year, after 9 years, we found that my mother had cancer in the mouth, and it had spread to her neck (lymph node). Many of our well-wishers and family friends said we had to go to a cancer specialist. So we visited 2 specialists. Both were good surgeons who said the old cancer had not recurred and this was a new cancer, but they were afraid to operate on her due to her advancing age (she is above 60 now). My mother lost faith and refused to see any doctors and undergo the surgery.

A doctor who is a surgeon himself near my house in Mogappair suggested we go back to Dr. Rajkumar to take an opinion as Dr. Rajkumar was being invited internationally to demonstrate surgeries. We met him at his new hospital at Perungudi. Dr. Rajkumar remembered my mother's name and was upset to know she had another cancer. The operation would be complex, he explained, and required a long operation to remove the cancer from both the mouth and the neck. Only he could convince my mother easily for the operation. The operation took 4 hours. The cancer was removed from both places, and a temporary plate was placed in the mouth to cover the hole after taking the cancer out. After some time, it was removed once the hole closed. She is on follow-up with the medical cancer specialist and doing well (touch wood).

We know that the doctor goes to both Rigid and Lifeline nowadays. He is a busy man because so many patients come to him from all over India and abroad for help. It was difficult to meet him many times, so when we used to phone him, he used to come and visit at night 11:30, twelve, etc., to see my mother after finishing his evening consultation. Once we explained that we may not afford the operation and asked him to do the operation in 2 stages - one for the mouth and another for the neck. He said he cannot compromise care, so he did both stages in one setting (4 hours) for the same charge. For a few days, he went abroad after my mother's operation, during which time his assistant doctors took good care of my mother and got opinions from him over the phone.

I have also heard of bad stories about him. I do not know how it happened, but still went to him. I really feel sorry for their relatives. Trusting a doctor comes only with experience. We have good experiences twice involving high-risk complicated operations with good results. Let God be with Mr. Durai in his moments of despair.

I do hope people do not delay their treatment with doctors because of negative reports but only think carefully and do what suits them best. Our family still has trust in Dr. Rajkumar because he saved my mother's life twice. I will leave it at that.

Dear all,

As some of you say... We cannot blame the doctor; maybe the victim would have forced him to carry on the operation immediately, so that he can leave for the UK. It's all a part of negligence on both sides. At least in the future, let's take it as a lesson and not create a negative impact on the doctor. Instead, be aware of healthcare and medical facilities.

Thank you.

Dear June,

Kindly accept my deepest condolences. It is truly inhumane on the part of the doctors and the hospital management to play with the life of the patient for money.

Rameshbala

The Ongoing Issue of Medical Negligence

Words are insufficient for this trauma. Your sharing is also greatly appreciated for raising awareness among others. This issue is still prevalent around us. The same inhumane behavior of some doctors, the same money-sucking tendency of private hospitals and nursing homes, and the same heartless activities of staff and workers persist. Think of those who are unable to bear the high charges of such private hospitals and nursing homes and have to resort to government hospitals.

But, my friend, merely sharing this painful experience will not bring about any changes. As some friends advised, please take some legal steps. Try to file a complaint with human rights organizations, the RTI (Right to Information Act – India), consumer forums, etc. At the very least, all of our positive actions and concerns can help stop this crime, which continues to happen every day.

Thanks.