Medical team didn’t detect a cardiac arrest that the woman had suffered during the operation, thus issuing no timely intervention
Dubai - The family of an Emirati woman who is in a coma after a botched nose-job is preparing to fly her to the US for treatment after His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, offered to cover her medical expenses.
“We are just waiting for the visa,” the woman’s aunt told Gulf News, before thanking Shaikh Mohammad Bin Zayed for his intervention.
The 24-year-old woman, who is a first year master’s student studying hospital management, has been in a coma since April 23 after a routine rhinoplasty surgery went wrong.
The aunt said that there is no improvement to her niece’s condition as she remains unresponsive and motionless, but the family are hoping that she can be moved onto a rehabilitative ward from intensive care after her treatment in the US.
Women defence lawyer volunteered
Meanwhile, the aunt said officials from the Dubai Health Authority (DHA) had informed them that the case had been referred to prosecutors to begin legal proceedings, and that the final report sent to Public Prosecution had revealed several violations.
Lawyer Eisa Bin Haidar has also volunteered to be the woman’s defence lawyer, according to the aunt.
“He refused to take any money from the family as he told us she was like a daughter to him,” she added.
Bin Haidar will now begin legal proceedings against the surgeon that carried out the botched procedure.
The family has alleged that the incident was the result of gross negligence and malpractice on the part of the doctors at the operation theatre where the surgery took place. They have filed a complaint with Dubai Police and the DHA.
What happened that day?
The aunt said that staff at the surgery theatre didn’t have the required certification for Advanced Cardiovascular Life Support (ACLS), and she alleged that the surgeon, anaesthesiologist and nurse at the centre didn’t detect a cardiac arrest that the woman had suffered during the operation, thus issuing no timely intervention.
“Blood did not reach her brain,” she said. “The medications given to her after the condition deteriorated were incorrect, The operating room was not equipped to alert staff during an emergency.”
The aunt also alleged that the anaesthesiologist did not have enough knowledge to deal with the complications and he didn’t observe the patient’s vital signs.
“She suffered a sharp drop in blood circulation and pressure. Oxygen supply to the brain was affected, her heart stopped for seven minutes and she slipped into a deep coma — which she is yet to wake up from,” said the woman’s aunt.
The anaesthesiologist also allegedly stepped out for a coffee and a cigarette when the complications took place.
