By Abdulhadi Al-Rizqi

Okaz/Saudi Gazette

TAIF – A Saudi father accused a government-run hospital here of committing a medical error while operating on his 50-day-old baby.

Muhammad Al-Malki said he admitted his daughter into the hospital to undergo a duodenal obstruction surgery as she was suffering from a shortage of albumin.

The outer layer of the duodenum was badly damaged during the operation, according to the father. “When I took her again to the hospital, the doctors said there were slight leakage and the surgeon would fix it. But my daughter’s condition did not improve as she kept vomiting. It turned out she suffered from a bulging duodenum and the doctors decided to operate on her immediately. Two days later, my daughter’s condition got worse,” he said.

The doctors told the father that his daughter would get well. However, the wound started to discharge a lot of pus.

The parents took their daughter to another hospital. After running specialized tests, it was learned that the first operation had caused leakage inside the baby’s abdomen.

Although the girl was discharged from hospital, she was still not doing well and suffered acute pain. The father called upon the authorities to hold the doctor who operated on his daughter the first time accountable and responsible.

When contacted by Okaz/Saudi Gazette, Taif Health Affairs spokesman Abdulhadi Al-Rabi’ee refused to comment on the case and the medical procedures taken by the hospital.