RIYADH — Physicians at Rafah General Hospital are being accused of negligence for allegedly causing twin girls to be born blind after they were delivered prematurely. Thamer Al-Shimiri, the girls' father, said doctors in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) were forced to deliver the infants prematurely due to complications but assured him that the twins were under constant supervision by specialists including an ophthalmologist. The twins were discharged after multiple doctors, including the ophthalmologist, signed a form indicating that the infants were in a stable condition. Two weeks after they were discharged from the hospital, the ophthalmologist examined the infants and told the parents that their retinas were growing normally and asked them to return in two months. It was by chance that Al-Shimiri discovered his daughters were suffering from retinal detachment, when an eye specialist at a private clinic was examining one of the twins. The doctor then asked to examine the other twin and following his diagnosis, referred them both to Arar Hospital and then to King Khaled Eye Specialist Hospital in Riyadh, where the twins were diagnosed with Retinopathy of Prematurity (RoP), a disease that primarily occurs in premature babies. The twins were most likely exposed to a high quantity of oxygen, reported specialists at the hospital, as abnormal blood vessels expanded in their retinas, causing them to detach. It was then revealed that the ophthalmologist at Rafah General Hospital had not checked up on the twins throughout their time in the NICU. “There is an international protocol for neonates that requires them to be tested according to their weight. Their retinas are examined as neonates are susceptible to retinal defects which may develop into retinal detachment if left untreated,” explained Dr. Hassan Al-Deeby, consultant surgeon at King Khaled Eye Specialist Hospital. Ayyad Al-Maili, Director-General of Rafah General Hospital, confirmed that he had received the father's complaint in which he accused the hospital's ophthalmologist of negligence that ultimately led to the blindness of his daughters. A medical committee has been tasked by the National Guard Health Affairs to investigate and take necessary action against the doctors in question if the allegations are confirmed. — SG
