Two Fortis doctors suspended for 6 months

The Delhi Medical Council (DMC) has suspended two surgeons for medical negligence, who operated upon a 24-year-old Chartered Accountant at Fortis Hospital in Shalimar Bagh. "Both the doctors — Dr Ashwani Maichanda, consultant orthopaedics and Dr Rahul Kakran, associate consultant orthopaedics — have been suspended for 180 days," said Dr Girish Tyagi, registrar, Delhi Medical Council.

Earlier, Fortis administration had already dismissed five staffers immediately after taking cognisance of the incident.

The story was reported in June last year after Ravi Rai, the patient, fractured his right ankle after he fell down from the stairs. Following this, his family immediately took him to the nearby Fortis hospital in Shalimar Bagh for treatment, while considering that their son would get better facilities and recover fast.

According to Rai's family, the doctors informed them that the patient had received fracture in his right ankle and would have to undergo surgery. Moreover, medicos had informed the kin that they would insert four pins in his ankle for the support.

To ascertain how severe the damage was, the doctors got some tests done, including CT-Scan, X-Ray.

On checking the investigation report, they had informed that his condition was serious and a surgery needed to be performed at the earliest. "The hospital staff had assured that the operation will be done by experts and later the highest standards in medical procedure would be followed.

My son was operated upon but we came to know of their serious mistake after Ravi gained consciousness and informed us that the surgeons had operated upon his left ankle instead of right ankle, which was fractured during the accident," said Ravi's father.

Ravi's father added that "the hospital informed him that the doctor's confusion about the affected leg led to the incident. Further, the X-Ray of both the legs confirmed the grave mistake made by the hospital.

Moreover, the doctors even tried to suppress the incident by convincing them that it was a minor incident and that it could be fixed in no time."

Angry family members had Ravi discharged from Fortis and took him to another hospital where he underwent treatment.

The DMC had taken suo motu cognisance of the matter and initiated an enquiry into it.

The Council's disciplinary panel observed the doctors had also failed to detect fracture in the patient's spine, despite it being visible in the X-ray. They wrongly put him on anaesthesia and this could have impacted the patient in the long term.

"The patient, attendants or anesthetists were never informed of any plan of surgery on the left foot and no consent for the same was taken.

"It is observed that the surgeons also failed to covey the suspicion of spine fracture to the anaesthetist before administration of spinal

anaesthesia. It should have been avoided especially when the patient had suspicion of spine fracture," the DMC panel said.

Later, Ravi's father lodged a complaint against the doctors at Ashok Vihar police station.

Following this, a case has been registered under Section 336 (act endangering life or personal safety of others), 338 (causing grievous hurt by an act endangering life or personal safety of others) and 34 (common intention) of the Indian Penal Code.