RAFHA — The parents of five-year-old Mazoon Al-Shammari could not believe the pediatric surgeon in Rafha Central Hospital when he denied the presence of any foreign object in their daughter's foot because they had witnessed a toothpick pierce her foot when she stumbled on it. However, their trust in the surgeon made them deny what their eyes saw. After examinations and x-rays, the surgeon assured them that their daughter's foot was free from any foreign object. This diagnosis could have cost their daughter her foot due to gangrene, had it not been for the orthopedic surgeon who intervened, one month later. Saad Al-Shammari, the child's father, said Mazoon's suffering began after a toothpick punctured her right foot, and they took her to Rafha Central Hospital to extract the wooden piece left behind. The emergency doctor referred her to the pediatric surgeon who, after the necessary examinations and x-rays, assured them that her foot was free from any object. He told the doctor that he and her mother saw the toothpick, and could feel it before it went deeper into her foot. Upon their insistence, the doctor again checked the girl's foot and diagnosed the case as safe. A month later, the pain did not subside, and they visited the doctor again, who assured them that the pain was due to infection and had to be treated with antibiotics. Nine days later, the child's foot was swollen and changed color, with an unpleasant smell. They took her to the hospital for the third time, but they asked for the orthopedic surgeon, who after the examination, found a strange object inside the child's foot. He decided on immediate surgery and the toothpick was extracted. The father lodged a complaint with the Ministry of Health asking it to intervene and penalize the doctor for the wrong diagnosis that resulted in a month of suffering to his daughter, who almost lost her right foot. — SG
