Dr Abdul Aleem Chaudhry, a surgeon of private hospital in Multan, has removed a towel from the abdomen of a woman Sana Bibi after seven months. She suffered a lot due to the negligence of a female surgeon, who left towel in the abdomen during caesarean delivery at a private hospital of Lahore on February 16,2006.
Later, despite the fact that it was an error of the surgeon, he demanded Rs40,000 from the victim's family for removing the towel. The affected woman told reporters in Multan on Wednesday that earlier doctors diagnosed a tumour in abdomen while it was a piece of towel, which was left by the surgeon during the operation.
Sana Bibi, the wife of Muhammad Imran was living along with her in-laws on Ravi Road, Lahore. On February 16, 2006, she was admitted to Shamim Clinic on Amir Road, Shadbagh for an expected normal delivery of her first baby.
She said: "I was taken to a labour room, where Dr Shamim, the owner of the clinic, after thoroughly check-up told us that the normal delivery was not possible.
"The doctor asked us to arrange for Rs 18,000 for a major operation." She said that the hospital administration later bargained with them and received Rs 14,000 for the operation besides Rs 5,000 for medicines.
She said that lady surgeon Dr Iffat Naheed, who is also serving in Service Hospital, Lahore had operated on her and Dr Akbar had acted as the anaesthetist.
Expert surgeons have opined that normally a doctor, who operates on a C-section, places at least eight pieces of towel in the abdomen, which are called 'sponges abdomen' and remove them one by one before stitching the abdomen.
The medical history of the patient reveals that Dr Iffat Naheed either committed negligence due to inexperience or deliberately stitched the abdomen without removing a piece of towel.
Sana suffered unbearable pain in her stomach for seven months, while she continuously visited Dr Iffat at Shamim Clinic for six months, paying heavy fee and purchasing costly medicines.
"Dr Iffat told me at the end of the sixth month that there was a tumour in my abdomen and she demanded Rs 40,000 for its removal," she said. "I came to my parents' home here after a disappointing ordeal. I felt serious pain after pulling a sewing machine and was taken to a private hospital where doctors admitted me.
She said that medical director Dr Abdul Aleem Chaudhry diagnosed the presence of a piece of towel in her abdomen.
Dr Aleem, while giving his reaction said: "There was very stinky and unbearable smell when two doctors removed the piece of towel from her abdomen, which had deeply damaged and injured her intestines. An alternate arrangement was made for the removal of her wastes due to severe damage of her colon. However, she is recovering."
When contacted, Punjab Health Director General Dr Aslam Chaudhry said there were rules for taking action against doctors working at government hospitals in any negligence, while in similar cases there was no such rule to take action against doctors working at private clinics.
He said that such cases had been reported many times in the past, but they were helpless in taking action against doctors working in private hospitals. Assistant Professor Dr Iffat Naheed was repeatedly contacted but she disconnected her mobile on every attempt. When contacted in the capacity of a patient for operating on a C-Section, she said: "Being an assistant professor at Lahore Services Hospital, she would not operate on C-Section." She asked the caller to bring the patient at National Defence Hospital in this connection and disconnected her cell phone.
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