JEDDAH, 2 June — A 40-year-old Saudi woman, the latest victim of medical malpractice, is in a coma ever since she had undergone a nasal surgery six months ago, press reports said yesterday.
Rawiya Abbas fell unconscious after doctors at a medical center in Jeddah anesthetized her twice during the operation.
“We heard her scream 15 minutes after she was taken to the operation room. The doctors gave her another dose of anesthetic,” the woman’s husband Musfir Al-Mahmadi told Al-Madinah newspaper. “She did not move at all after the second injection,” he added.
Al-Mahmadi said the doctor who conducted the operation had told him that his wife would be all right shortly after receiving the necessary treatment.
The doctor had told him earlier that the operation, which cost him SR4,000, would take only half an hour.
After his wife’s condition worsened, Al-Mahmadi lodged a complaint against the doctor at the Health Affairs Department. It was later passed to the Medical Committee and the Legal Committee for action.
Al-Mahmadi said the hospital had refused to pay the cost of her treatment at another specialized medical center. However, they offered to settle the case by paying a compensation of SR50,000, instead of bearing the expenses of her treatment.
He said the doctor responsible for his wife’s present condition was still practicing and did not face any penal action. He urged the health authorities to do the needful to save his wife’s life and investigate the case.
