Botched surgery robs woman of breast in Egypt

Cairo: A top Egyptian court has ordered the sacking of two doctors at a state hospital from their jobs after convicting them of conducting an operation that mistakenly removed a woman patient’s breast, private newspaper Al Masri Al Youm reported Sunday.

The verdict was passed by the High Administrative Court against the head of the surgery and tumour department and a tissue analysis specialist at the Educational Matariya Hospital in Cairo, the paper said.

Both doctors were found guilty of inflicting a permanent disability on the woman after they performed a mistaken mastectomy on her. After the operation, medical investigations proved that the woman suffered a minor inflammation, not a cancer tumour, and as such, the breast-removing surgery should not have been carried out.

“The two doctors’ grave mistake robbed the woman of enjoying part of her body by removing her breast for no good medical reason after she had paid hard-collected 11,000 Egyptian pounds (Dh2,552) in fees for the unnecessary operation,” the court was quoted as saying.

The court’s ruling upheld an earlier decision by a state-run hospital agency sacking the two doctors. Their names were not disclosed.