in-law of Tariq Al-Juhani, who died on Dec. 17 after falling into a 21-day coma during an operation at a private hospital in Jeddah, has blamed the hospital, head surgeon and the anesthetist for the dentist's death. Dr. Nadiya Hussein Bandaqji, a consultant plastic surgeon and sister-in-law of Al-Juhani, said the surgeon was responsible for overseeing whole process, including selecting the anesthetist. “He could have brought in a consultant known to the hospital to supervise the procedure,” Dr. Bandaqji said. “In such a case, however, it would have been advisable to bring in an anesthetizing team given Tariq's weight and the type of procedure he was to undergo, which was a stomach shrinking operation requiring an experienced surgeon and anesthetist.” According to Dr. Bandaqji, it was discovered later that the doctor who gave the anesthetic was new and had only been at the hospital for a day. “She still hadn't had her paperwork inspected,” she said. Al-Juhani's sister-in-law said that the procedure was only expected to last one hour. “The wait continued for three hours and my sister began to get concerned,” said Bandaqji. “When she asked what was happening, she was told that the operation had not yet been done because of a difficulty inserting a tube, but that he was in good health. When she asked to see the surgeon involved, he arrived in the company of hospital security staff to tell her that there had been a problem during anesthetization, but that he was stable and would come round soon,” Bandaqji said. “Later on, Tariq came out of theater in a coma and on artificial respiration, and he was suffering from convulsions and was put in intensive care.” Dr. Bandaqji said that the period of convulsions lasted several hours and that during that “lethal time” the surgeon involved failed to make an appearance at the intensive care unit. “The doctors were unable to stop the convulsions, which are extremely serious and can lead to brain damage,” she said. “My sister and her family were screaming and crying, as they didn't know what was happening, and we were forced to take him to the specialist hospital where he worked and where doctors put him in intensive care and cooled him to stop the spasms. His coma continued, however, for 21 days until he died on Dec. 17. Scans showed that his brain had been completely destroyed.” Dr. Bandaqji said that the hospital was also responsible for ensuring that all procedures are conducted correctly. “The hospital is responsible for supplying the proper monitoring equipment and surgical tools, and ensuring that any lack of oxygen in anesthetization prompts warnings,” Dr. Bandaqji said.
