For two years 'they refused to admit about missing kidney'

Abu Dhabi: An Emirati mother says she will demand compensation and an apology from Shaikh Khalifa Hospital and the Health Authority in Abu Dhabi for allegedly removing her daughter's kidney without her consent.

A. Abdullah Al Ameri told Gulf News yesterday she will sue Shaikh Khalifa Medical City. She said she has suffered for the last two years.

She said her daughter, underwent a surgery to remove a tumour above her kidney, when she was 24 days old.

"Even though I was not completely convinced with the idea of a surgery, Dr Colin Lazarus, paediatric surgeon at the Shaikh Khalifa Hospital then insisted that the tumour or Neuroblastoma was very dangerous and that it had to be removed."

Al Ameri added the surgeon assured her that the surgery will not affect her kidney or any part of her daughter, who was born on January 16, 2003.

Finally after carrying out the necessary tests the surgery was done on February 9, 2003. Almost-two-and-a-half months after surgery, follow up scan was done on April 23, 2003 and during the scan the radiologist asked me if the left kidney was removed during the surgery.

Al Ameri said these words shocked me and she replied that it was not and later the radiologist told her to confirm with the doctor on our visit to the clinic. The next day, on April 24, 2003, a CT scan was done and during the visit to the doctor it was said that everything was fine and nothing to worry.

"This was repeated every three months and as usual we were assured by the follow up doctor in the clinic that the child was fine and progressing with good health.

"When I asked a doctor about the left kidney not shown in the scan he said that the kidney is ok and it was not removed. Then we continued the follow up visits and kept on asking the doctors about the left kidney and all the doctors assured that it was present and fine.

"Until May 2005 when we visited the clinic and insisted to know for sure whether the left kidney was there or not. A CT scan was done and it was confirmed that the left kidney was removed during the surgery."

Al Ameri said she then complained at the hospital. Even after several months nothing was done and the hospital authorities said that due to some surgical mistake the blood supply to the left kidney stopped and as a result the kidney started shrinking and finally got absorbed by the body. In other words, they said it disappeared.

Hospitals disagreed

Al Ameri said she finally approached Health Authority's Complaints Department, but "after one year they also said that they agree with Shaikh Khalifa Hospital that the kidney can disappear and they closed the file."

However, Al Ameri, a mother of four children with Noora being the youngest, was not satisfied with their investigation. "I have taken my daughter's reports to other doctors in the UAE, Bahrain and India and all these doctors disagreed with what had been said at Shaikh Khalifa Hospital and by the Health Authority in Abu Dhabi."

Then she filed a complaint to Ahmad Al Mazroui, Director of the Health Authority, only to say after one year that they agree with the Complaints Department.

"Now my daughter is suffering. She can't play like a normal child. She gets tired very fast and every now and then she gets infection and we need to take special care of her. Thinking that one day she might have serious problem I can't sleep at nights. I want to know why my daughter and we have to suffer and go through all this. Now since more than two-and-a-half years, I have been struggling to get justice. A helpless mother is trying her best to get justice for her daughter," she said.

Hospital chief stands by report

Abu Dhabi: Dr Kenneth Ouriel, CEO of the Shaikh Khalifa Medical City, told Gulf News he was not sure whether the kidney was removed or not.

"However, I think the vessels may have been damaged during the surgery and the blood supply to the kidney was interrupted and as a result the kidney started to shrink," he said.

Dr Kenneth, also a vascular surgeon, apologised for what he called miscommunication and for not informing the patient's guardians about the risks involved in the surgery.

He also apologised for Al Ameri's suffering for the past two years and for the fact that nobody answered her questions or respected her feelings as a mother. Dr Kenneth joined SKMC recently and the hospital was under a Canadian management when the alleged medical mistake took place.

- Staff Report