Ashiq Hussain
SRINAGAR, Aug 30: What was supposed to be the happiest day of two super-specialist doctors in a remote sub-district hospital of Kashmir became the worst nightmare of their life; thanks to an unconfirmed news report gone viral on the internet.
The doctors, Sheikh Tariq (38) and Abdul Rouf (39), became the target of public ire because of a source-based one-sided news story “Kashmir doctors remove gall-bladder instead of appendix” by a local news agency on August 16 mentioning the “negligence of the doctors”. For its spicy content the story was immediately lifted by various national and international news portals besides appearing in local newspapers, perhaps without any official confirmation.
But now a biopsy report of the surgery which was conducted on a 25-year-old female Ameena in sub-district hospital Ganderbal, has established the correctness of the doctors.
Opinion by health officials and the statement by patient’s family have cleared the duo of any wrong doing; but the baseless media reporting, they say, has tarnished their reputation beyond public imagination.
“I am unable to make my seven year old son understand the reason for people taunting him over the issue. I am getting calls from my friends working abroad ridiculing our decision to serve our poor state,” a visibly shattered Dr Tariq said.
“Despite saving the life of a patient, we were demonized. I am at a loss to understand why? All the staff of the hospital had worked way beyond their working hours to save the patient’s life,” he said.
Dr Rouf fell short of words to describe the predicament he was going through. “It was the happiest day of our life but now it has remained etched as the worst memory,” said the doctor, a urologist.
A super specialist in plastic surgery, Dr Tariq had just finished a reconstruction surgery on the severely injured right hand of a young man in sub-district hospital Ganderbal on August 14, when his urologist colleague Dr Rouf sought a suggestion for an emergency case about a women with acute abdominal pain at around 3 pm.
Twenty five year old Ameena, residing some 15 km away from the hospital, was diagnosed with ‘peritonitis’ – an inflammation (irritation) of the peritoneum, the thin tissue that lines the inner wall of the abdomen and covers most of the abdominal organs.
Usually caused by infection, peritonitis can rapidly spread into the blood (sepsis) and to other organs, resulting in multiple organ failure and death.
The time was crucial for her. “The most suspected cause was the ruptured appendix but we did not rule out involvement of gall bladder or other organs. As time was running out we decided to go for laparotomy, a full sized abdominal incision which is a standard procedure in these conditions,” Dr Rouf said.
“Minutes into the operation we found that the patient had a ruptured gall-bladder while all her other organs were normal. The bladder was removed successfully and patient recovered without any complication,” the doctors said.
The biopsy report also confirmed the conclusion of doctors diagnosing ‘microscopic perforation, mucosa ulcerated and acute exacerbation’ of the organ.
The news reports, quoting hospital sources, had said that the “patient’s family was shocked when they came to know that the doctors had removed gall-bladder instead of appendix.”
However, when contacted Mohammad Sidiq, father-in-law of the patient, denied that any such thing happened. “We were informed by doctors on every step. After Almighty it is their effort which saved the life of our daughter,” Sidiq said.
The story, quite strangely, had quoted Chief Medical Officer of the district Ganderbal Dr. Mehmooda Kar that a “high level enquiry has been ordered” into the matter, only to be refuted by the CMO as ‘fabricated and dramatized’.
“One fails to understand how one can survive when his or her gall-bladder is removed instead of a ruptured appendix. The patient’s diseases bladder was removed saving her life. The doctors could not get a word of appreciation,” Dr Kar said in a statement.
Kashmir Director Health, Dr Saleem-ur-Rehman expressed his intention of awarding the two doctors. “They saved a precious life and they deserve an award,” he told media.
