Goof-up in Kerala hospital, doctor implants wrong rod in patient’s hand

Thiruvananthapuram: In a case of medical negligence at the Government Kozhikode Medical College in Kerala, a doctor implanted a wrong rod in the hand of a patient who had met with an accident.

The orthopaedic surgeon of the Medical college implanted the rod bought for another patient into the hand of a youth who was admitted to the hospital after suffering from a fracture in a road accident.

Ajith (24) was admitted to the Kozhikode Medical College Hospital a week ago and surgery was performed on him the other day for the fracture he had in his right hand.

After the surgery the patient complained of severe pain and an X-ray check revealed that the doctor had implanted a wrong rod on the patient.

The youth’s family said the doctor immediately asked to do another surgery. When they did not agree, the doctor shouted at them.

The mother of Ajith filed a case against the doctor with the Medical College police. She told media persons that the family had purchased medical items worth Rs 3,000 as prescribed by the doctor and added that none of these were used when the surgery was performed.

Recently, at the Kozhikode Medical College, a surgeon performed surgery on a four-year-old girl’s tongue who was admitted for Polydactyly (the condition of having more than a normal number of fingers and toes) for removing her extra finger on a hand.

The family complained to the police and an FIR was registered against the Associate Professor of Surgery at the Institute of Maternal and Child Health at Kozhikode Medical College, Dr. Bejon Johnson, who was suspended from service.