Medical Negligence: Doctor Removes Wrong Organ During Surgery in Varanasi

In a shocking incident of medical negligence, a private doctor in Varanasi district, Uttar Pradesh, mistakenly removed the wrong organ during surgery. The accused doctor, identified as Praveen Tiwari, runs a private nursing home in the city. Instead of removing the patient's gall bladder, he mistakenly took out her uterus.

Following the incident, a local court ordered the booking of the doctor for serious negligence. He has been charged under IPC sections 336, 337, 338 (causing grievous hurt by an act endangering life or personal safety of others), and 504 (intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of the peace), among others. The Chief Medical Officer, Sandeep Chaudhary, stated that a panel of doctors would investigate the matter once the police request an inquiry.

The incident dates back to 2020 when Usha Maurya, a resident of Bela village in Varanasi's Cholapur block, experienced severe abdominal pain. She sought help from an ASHA worker in her village, who took her to Dr. Tiwari's private nursing home in Gola. After a diagnosis of gall bladder stones, she underwent surgery for gall bladder removal on May 28, 2020, at the doctor's clinic.

However, in March of the following year, Usha once again experienced sharp pain in her abdomen. Upon examination at another private nursing home in Baniyapur, it was discovered that her gall bladder was still intact with stones, but her uterus was missing.

Feeling deceived, Usha confronted Dr. Tiwari with the test reports, but he allegedly threatened her instead of providing an explanation. After facing difficulty in seeking justice, she approached a local court, which led to the filing of a case against the doctor. The Cholapur station officer, Rajesh Tripathi, assured that the matter was under investigation, and appropriate action would be taken soon.

In June of this year, a family in Jaipur, Rajasthan, accused Fortis Hospital of negligence during a heart surgery, alleging that the doctors had inadvertently left surgical scissors inside the patient's body, leading to his death.

According to the family members, after the surgery, the patient's health continued to deteriorate, and he passed away 12 days later. To their shock, when they went to collect the bones after the cremation, they discovered the presence of surgical scissors.

Upon contacting the hospital to address the issue, the family was met with denial and the hospital officials refuted all allegations, claiming that the family was lying.

In response to this distressing incident, the family of the deceased has taken legal action and lodged a complaint against the hospital at the Jawahar Circle police station.