Times of India
13 January 2010
Madurai, India

Alleged negligence on the part of a team of doctors of a private hospital in the temple city has led to a 36–year–old woman being operated on the wrong leg. On realising their blunder, the doctors quickly operated on the right leg, but the two surgeries have left the woman immobile and traumatised.

Alagumeenal Chandramohan was suffering from a nagging knee pain on her right leg. As her family depended on the daily wages she brought home, Alagumeenal and her husband Chandramohan decided to avail of treatment under the DMK government’s health insurance scheme and approached doctors in a private hospital.

On the day of surgery on January 8, paramedics prepared Alagumeenal for surgery. The doctors who operated on her informed Chandramohan that the surgery had been a success.

“But, when she was brought to her room, we were shocked to see that her left leg was bandaged instead of the right leg,” said Chandramohan. He said he brought this to the notice of the doctors, who, without hesitation performed the surgery on the right leg the same evening. Chandramohan alleged that doctors were refusing to answer his queries and his wife was suffering because her mobility was affected.

When contacted, the hospital’s chief doctor, Dr Veera Rajkumar, told TOI that nothing wrong was done and that the surgery was done on both knees after informing the patient as she suffered problems on both the joints. “But, all medical records have been submitted to Star Health Insurance (the company overseeing the health insurance programme) and anyone is free to get the details there,” he said. Meanwhile, Chandramohan has sent petitions to the CM’s cell and the health minister.