The Jordanian Ministry of Health has been asked to investigate an alleged medical error that resulted in a Saudi national lapsing into coma and declared brain dead.

The family of Fawaz Dughaishem Al-Enzi, 27, filed a complaint after the operation on his nose at a hospital in Amman. Abdullah Al-Enzi, the cousin of Fawaz, who accompanied him to Jordan, said the procedure took place on May 2.

Abdullah said the hospital reported that Fawaz had difficulty breathing 30 minutes into the operation. Doctors performed cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) to get him breathing again.

“The medical teams and doctors moved him to the intensive care unit and put him on a respirator. Further tests and X-rays of the brain showed the existence of cerebral edema,” said Abdullah.

He said that Fawaz did not respond to any external stimuli. “On May 5, the doctors declared Fawaz brain dead. He is still in the intensive care unit and a technical committee consisting of specialized doctors from the hospital was formed to follow up on his medical condition, and determine the reasons for the complications he suffered.”

Abdullah said the Saudi Embassy in Jordan and the Saudi Ministry of Health are following up on the case with the family. Abdullah said he received a call from the Defense Ministry’s Deputy Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Fayyad Al-Ruwaili who said Fawaz would be transported back to the Kingdom.

Abdullah demanded that the Jordanian authorities conduct an investigation to determine what happened. He claimed that a mistake had been made during the operation.

Sami Saleh, the Saudi ambassador in Amman, said the embassy has been in contact with the family, and a lawyer appointed to follow up on the case with Jordan’s health minister.

He said the embassy wanted to move Fawaz to another hospital but doctors had advised against it.