Karnataka woman dies days after tubectomy, kin allege negligence

Tension prevailed near Govt Mother and Child hospital in Chintamani, Chikkaballapur district, Monday after relatives of a 23-year-old woman, who died days after undergoing a tubectomy, refused to accept her body and demanded action against doctors concerned.Narmada, a resident of Batlahalli village in Chintamani taluk, was admitted to hospital on April 23 for the procedure. According to hospital sources, the surgery was conducted the following morning.Relatives alleged that complications arose during the surgery after Narmada's small intestine was accidentally damaged. Following this, another surgeon at the hospital performed an emergency corrective procedure. Narmada was kept under observation at the hospital for nearly two weeks.She was discharged on May 7 after doctors informed the family that her condition was stable. However, relatives said she developed severe lower back pain Sunday evening and was rushed back to the hospital, where doctors declared her dead.The death triggered protests by family members and villagers, who accused the hospital authorities of negligence.Obalesh, Narmada's husband, alleged the family was initially told an "infection" had developed after the procedure. "Later, another doctor informed us her small intestine was damaged during the operation. Even after that, we trusted the doctors because they assured us she was recovering well. Before discharge from the hospital, they said she was healthy and promised to take care of any future complications. But she died just two days later," he claimed.Hospital administrative officer Dr Santosh denied any negligence and said the damage to Narmada's intestine had been detected and treated immediately. "The surgeon performed another operation after the issue was noticed. She was kept under observation until the wounds healed and was discharged only after doctors were satisfied with her recovery," he said.Dr Santosh added the exact cause of death would be known only after postmortem report is received.