JEDDAH: Dr. Sami Badawood, Director of Health Affairs in Jeddah Governorate has issued directives to form an urgent committee to investigate accusations that a government doctor's medical error resulted in a female patient losing her stomach and spleen after undergoing 20 operations, three of which were at the doctor's expense in a private hospital. The woman has been in a coma for the last 15 days. The patient, identified only as Areej, 29, was admitted to a government hospital for an operation to remove part of her stomach, but the procedure was not successful and complications forced the doctor to conduct several other operations to stop leakage from a hole in her belly, according to officials. The patient's brother said the operations have taken a severe toll on her body. “She has lost her stomach, spleen and the function of the esophagus,” he said. “She has been in a coma for the last 15 days and she is fed through a medical tube. The doctor conducted three other operations in a private hospital and they were not successful. He carried out several other operations in a government hospital and they, too, were unsuccessful. She has been suffering from continuous pain for the past seven months.” The man said his family has lodged a complaint at the Ministry of Health, which referred it to the Directorate of Health of Affairs in Jeddah. The accused doctor admitted that the female patient is in a critical state and that there were complications in the operation due to stomach leakage, which he tried to treat in several operations. The doctor added that the family had given their written consent for all the operations.
