JEDDAH – The father of a 12-year-old girl who has been in a coma for 20 days now in a private hospital in Jeddah due to complications following the removal of a malignant brain tumor has criticized the Directorate of Health Affairs in Jeddah for not providing his daughter with a bed at a specialist hospital. Muhammad Al-Haddad said a directorate representative came to him on Tuesday and asked him to transfer his daughter Raneem to King Fahd General Hospital, but he refused. He said: “I requested them beforehand to transfer her to King Faisal Specialist Hospital or the National Guard Hospital because she is in a serious condition.” Al-Haddad said he would get her treated at his own expense. He appealed to the Makkah governorate to help his daughter receive good treatment. Al-Haddad said the problems began when his daughter started getting headaches that continued for five days. Painkillers did not help in alleviating the pain. He said: “We conducted some medical tests that did not help in diagnosing the cause of the continuous headaches. “Then she underwent an MRI scan that confirmed the existence of a large tumor that had to be removed urgently. “She was under medical observation and I was told she might die within 24 hours. They asked me to give my approval for the surgery. “I felt like I was forced to sign the papers as they told me she might die even if she just sneezes. “The operation was performed on her and the doctor told us she would regain consciousness within an hour, but she has been in a coma until this day. “She underwent a catheterization while she was in her coma. “Finally they told me her pulse, temperature and blood pressure were normal, but the brain stem was not responding.” Raneem's grandfather Yusuf said the family has a letter approving her transfer to King Faisal Specialist Hospital, but the directorate is helpless because the hospital does not come under its jurisdiction. He said a doctor at Erfan and Bagedo Hospital said Raneem is almost dead but is living on fluids for a limited period only. This angered the family and caused them to file a complaint against him at the hospital director's office. Dr. Narmar Muhammad Azzam, consultant neurosurgeon and supervisor of the operation, said Raneem was admitted to the hospital and had been suffering from constant headaches for over a week. Her MRI showed that she had a big malignant tumor. The case and the complications following surgery were explained to the family, he said, and Raneem's father signed his approval, a copy of which Okaz/Saudi Gazette has obtained. Azzam said: “During the operation she suffered from sudden internal bleeding, so we were forced to remove part of the tumor and we left the other part. But her condition deteriorated after 24 hours. “The brain stem stopped as a result of contraction of the brain arteries and blood stopped reaching the stem. It stopped completely.” Azzam said Raneem's father knew there was only a 20 percent chance of success and there would be complications. The family requested a second opinion from doctors outside the hospital. Eight consultant neurosurgeons came from government and private hospitals. All of them confirmed that the operation was conducted in a proper way, except for one doctor who said the operation should have been conducted normally without laparoscopy. Azzam said the girl is still in a coma and due to the shock the family believes a medical error has been committed, even though it was just post-operation complications. Dr. Sami Badawood, Director of Health Affairs in Jeddah, said: “An ICU bed has been reserved as well as an ambulance to transport her to King Fahd General Hospital, but her father has refused to transfer her. “He requested a bed for her at King Faisal Specialist Hospital, but the hospital does not come under the directorate's jurisdiction.” The Directorate of Health Affairs in Jeddah had issued a statement on Thursday that Raneem's condition was being followed up by consultant and specialist doctors after she was transferred to King Fahd General Hospital in Jeddah.
