Doc pays up for wrong surgery

hyderabad: negligence on the part of a doctor of a private hospital has earned him a punishment from the ap state consumer disputes redressal commission (apscdrc). he has been ordered by the commission to pay a compensation of rs 3,13,000 to the patient with interest at 12 per cent per annum from the date of filing of the complaint till the date of payment.according to the complaint filed at the commission, venkata narasaiah, an engineer with the singareni collieries company limited (sccl), godavari khani, suffering from stomach ache with 'dyspepsia', was referred to the osmania general hospital (ogh), hyderabad, on june 6, 1993 by the sccl area hospital to consult a gastro-enterologist. during a scanning of the patient's abdomen at the ogh on june 7, it was found that his gall bladder was thickened with multiple gall stones. subsequently, the patient consulted dr c l venkata rao of medwin hospitals with the reports. dr rao suggested 'laparascopic cholecystectomy' for removal of gall stones from the gall bladder. the patient was charged rs 12,000 for the same. however, after the operation, the patient developed complications which led him to go through multiple operations and medical care for over two years costing him rs 1.5 lakh and a loss of pay as he could not report to work. in his complaint, the patient alleged that the doctor, instead of removing the gall bladder, removed the bile duct leading to several complications. later, his bile duct was reconstructed using his intestines at apollo hospital. he alleged though the doctor committed a mistake that he did not revealed to the patient at the time of discharge. no remedial procedures were taken for preventing further complication and instead the doctor tried to cover up his incompetency, he said. the redressal commission found from the evidence that the doctor did not perform laparoscopic cholecystectomy perfectly as claimed by the doctor. when contacted, dr venkata rao said he was not aware of the case and wanted to verify the details from the medwin hospital which is also a party to the petition.