Dr. Sami Badawood has called for the setting up of a committee to look into a complaint filed by the dead woman’s relatives, said Abdul Rahman Al-Sahfi, spokesman for the Health Affairs Department in Jeddah.

“Measures have also been taken to prevent anyone involved in the case from leaving the Kingdom,” he added.

According to Al-Madinah newspaper, the dead woman, who was in her 30s, came to a private hospital in Jeddah after complaining of intestine problems three weeks ago.

“Dr. Muhamamd Mustafa Marzouq, the consultant doctor and head of the Surgery Department, told us the problem could be corrected through simple surgery. We accordingly agreed to allow them to carryout keyhole surgery,” said the woman’s husband Nasir Al-Qahtani.

After the operation, Al-Qahtani was told the surgery was successful and was given permission to take his wife home.

“However, her condition worsened at home and a yellow fluid began coming out of the place from where the incision was made. This was supposedly due to an infection,” said Al-Qahtani.

He added that his wife also complained of severe pain and so he brought her back to the same hospital.

“The surgeon who initially operated on her desperately tried to convince us that there was nothing unusual. He then carried out a second procedure to stop the yellow fluid,” he said.

“A number of other surgeons in the hospital, who took part in the second surgery, found that my wife’s condition had worsened. Following the second procedure, her pulse rate became slow and she fell into a coma,” he added.

Al-Qahtani said the surgeon then left the Kingdom. “My brothers-in-law and myself approached a number of doctors from other hospitals in the city. Due to our eagerness to save her, we managed to bring these doctors to the hospital,” he said.

“They found out that my wife’s condition was worsening. It was most probably because of wrong diagnosis or a medical error during surgery,” he added.

A few days later, Al-Qahtani’s wife died leaving their one daughter, Muneera, without a mother.

Meanwhile, another Saudi family has filed a complaint with the authorities after a 42-year-old female member of the family was left seriously ill following keyhole surgery.

Iman Al-Hartani has spent over SR700,000 for several surgical procedures and medical tests at three hospitals in Jeddah in a single month.

In spite of this, the mother of five still continues to experience mental anguish, physical discomfort and sleepless nights due to persistent pain.

“She underwent keyhole surgery to remove a gallbladder stone at a private hospital in Jeddah in November last year. However, this simple surgery brought her a host of complications after an artery leading to her liver was supposedly damaged during the procedure,” said Iman’s brother Ibrahim Al-Hartani.

“After leaving hospital, she experienced severe pain and we were then forced to take her to the emergency department of a second hospital where she underwent several tests and was given an injection,” he said.

“She was discharged after one day. Her condition did not improve. In fact, her condition worsened and so we took her to a third hospital. Tests showed her intestines had been poisoned by the injection. She then underwent further procedures which left her with inflamed lungs and other complications,” he added.

Ibrahim said the family had to pay a bill of around SR523,000 at the third hospital, which only further complicated his sister’s worsening health condition.

Iman is now undergoing treatment at a specialized government hospital in Jeddah.