She dies when doctors pierce her heart
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I can imagine what the doctors involved would have said;
"Oh, we didn't know her heart was swollen.."
Are doctors supposed to check? Take precautionary measures? Or is this another 'how much you can pay is what you get' kind of standard?
I say that there's no CRIMINAL negligence, but there's PROFESSIONAL negligence!!!
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She dies when doctors pierce her heart
Coroner rules the mistake was not the result of criminal negligence
July 22, 2006
SHE was warded for sudden wheezing, but died of a bleeding heart in hospital.
Doctors accidentally punctured Madam Lee Ah Hoe's heart with a trocar, a sharply pointed shaft.
It happened while they were trying to drain fluid from around her left lung on 5 Sep 2005.
Complications arose during the procedure because the patient had an enlarged heart.
Yesterday, State Coroner Tan Boon Heng recorded a verdict of misadventure in the 66-year-old's death.
While the coroner had 'no doubt' that Madam Lee's death was 'physician- induced', he ruled that the two doctors attending to her had not been criminally negligent.
NO CHARGES
The two potential defendants in the case, Dr Akash Verma, 33, and Dr Wijeweera Olivia, 25, will thus not have any charges brought against them.
It all started when Madam Lee was sent to Tan Tock Seng Hospital for sudden wheezing and stomach pains on 29 Aug 2005.
Dr Soon Puay Cheow, senior consultant and head of endocrinology, examined her on 3 Sep 2005 and found she had a large amount of fluid around her left lung.
He then instructed Dr Wijeweera, a medical officer in the department of general medicine, to drain the fluid and conduct a biopsy.
Dr Soon also told her to look for an experienced senior doctor who could supervise her during the procedure.
She approached Dr Verma, a senior medical officer in the department of respiratory medicine, and he agreed.
The procedure was scheduled for 1pm on 5 Sep 2005.
That day, Madam Lee was propped up in bed at 60 degrees while two student nurses helped hold her left arm above her head.
Under local anaesthesia, a 22-gauge hypodermic needle and syringe was inserted near her fourth rib under her left armpit.
When no fluid was drawn out, a larger 18-gauge needle was used instead. (Gauge is a term used to describe the thickness of needle. The smaller the gauge number, the bigger the needle.)
Blood-stained fluid was then drawn out. Next, a 2cm cut was made and a biopsy needle was inserted. After an adjustment to the needle, the fluid drained freely.
A chest tube was inserted and about 200ml of bloody fluid was drained.
But at this point, Dr Wijeweera noticed that Madam Lee was pale and had slumped down in the bed.
HEART BEATING TOO FAST
The patient's blood pressure could not be detected and her heart was beating too fast, at 120 beats per minute.
The chest tube was removed and the blood flow from the 2cm cut was manually blocked.
They immediately started to resuscitate Madam Lee. But her pulse became weaker and her heart pumped even faster.
The amount of oxygen in her heart started to fall while her blood pressure remained undetectable the whole time.
Ward Registrar Dr Chia Pow Li was called in to help while hospital staff tried to contact Madam Lee's family.
But after more than an hour of continuous resuscitation, Madam Lee died at 4.50pm.
The autopsy report stated the cause of death as heavy bleeding from the puncture of the heart's left ventricle following the insertion of the chest tube.
After a discussion with the ward consultant, Dr Soon decided to call for a coroner's inquiry.
Further investigations revealed that Dr Wijeweera had seen Madam Lee's enlarged heart from the same CT scan which showed the fluid around her left lung. However, she did not inform Dr Verma, who had not seen the CT scan, about this condition before the chest tube insertion started.
INDEPENDENT EXPERT
Dr Lim Chong Hee, senior consultant at the National Heart Centre's department of cardiothoracic surgery, was called as an independent medical expert to give his opinion on whether there was any medical negligence.
His report noted that there was no requirement to view the CT scan of the chest before the chest tube insertion.
But it would have been wise for Dr Verma to have done so in this case because he was unfamiliar with the patient's case and the CT scan was already available.
Dr Lim also noted that the inexperienced Dr Wijeweera should have prepared for the case thoroughly.
She should also have informed the supervising doctor of any abnormality, such as an enlarged heart.
However, the coroner, citing Dr Lim, noted that there was 'no lack of care given to the deceased' and the incident was 'entirely accidental'.
One of Dr Lim's suggestions: In future, difficult and complicated cases should be referred to thoracic surgeons for consultation and tubes should be placed with X-ray guidance. -
whoa kaoz doctors are all fucking useless.
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dead person not big shot right? then no problem liao.
great to be docs in SG .
make mistake during training? no prob... more guinea pigs there...
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NO CHARGES.
Tell me, how would you feel, if that old lady was your Mother, or Grandmother?? -
Not the first time. Get used to it.Originally posted by ShutterBug:NO CHARGES.
Tell me, how would you feel, if that old lady was your Mother, or Grandmother?? -
Then Hospitals and doctors, should also be getting used to being Sued royally.Originally posted by sgquitter:Not the first time. Get used to it. -
The X-rays showed the heart to be big. How can the doctors not have checked beforehand?
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sorri. Doctors/rich people = big shot. country NEED them.Originally posted by ShutterBug:Then Hospitals and doctors, should also be getting used to being Sued royally.
small flies die, no prob. Still got 4 million of them. -1 oni
oops... red-handed.Originally posted by sourketchup:The X-rays showed the heart to be big. How can the doctors not have checked beforehand?
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Isn't it STUPID? Even UNFAIR/UNJUST?
Clearly, one of the two "doctors", had noticed the paitent's swollen heart but failed or omitted for reasons unknown, to inform the other doctor who will be doing the insertion.
What do you call this???
And by their names, aren't they Foreign Talents???
Talents? -
True, there is no CRIMINAL negligence.
But it sure as hell is PROFESSIONAL negligence!!!!
Medical Hub my friggin foot! -
Doctors are still humans.
Humans are not perfect.
Shi t happens somtimes.
If you think doctors here suck, if you are dying go fuc k at the dumps.
If you think you are better being the doctor, go ahead. -
i wouldnt rule out all doctors to be fcuk sh!t. alot of them are nice ppl who really take xtra care for their patients.
theres always a black sheep in the family, and those 2 happen to be the black sheep of the medical family in sg. i believe they would have been dispised by their fellow doctors in the same field alrdy. so give them a break they are still human.
u can ask "what if the old lady was ur mother/grandmother?"
now i ask u back "what if the doctor is ur bro/father?"
are u going to give him the red card in ur life and not giving him moral support to tide over this period? -
I think what would be acceptable is that the mistake is acknowledged, and forgiveness is given, if the deceased's family wishes it to be so.Originally posted by sand king:Doctors are still humans.
Humans are not perfect.
Shi t happens somtimes.
If you think doctors here suck, if you are dying go fuc k at the dumps.
If you think you are better being the doctor, go ahead. -
Their names sound like FTs to me....
Condolences to the family. -
Oh, ok, if that's the case, I'm human too
Sorry , I'm not perfect, hence I couldn't see the fact that they're imperfect, so lets forgive them and too bad someone died because they were imperfect at the moment in time.
Lets hope, this imperfection doesn't happen to another person in future...
How's that for singing the same song??? -
Amazing people you are...
A clear cut case of professional negligence in our so called "Medical Hub" in our "1st World" country, and you guys are making hypnotized statements.
Or is this forum only meant for praising and no criticism allowed?
If so, then you people are as typical egoistic as the ruling party's characteristics. -
I feel that if no compensation is automatically offered by the hospital;Originally posted by sourketchup:I think what would be acceptable is that the mistake is acknowledged, and forgiveness is given, if the deceased's family wishes it to be so.
1) the doctors involved, and the hospital should be answerable to the patient's death - family should sue for all damages plus legal costs.
2) All medical fees and or costs in hospitalisation of the deceased be waived completely
3) Funeral costs will also be paid by the doctors involved
This will bring closure. -
i'm not saying u are wrong on this issue. but u know la singaporeans sumtimes causing a death for their family members hor they tend to remember u for life and wish u were dead on the spot 1. not everytime also money can solve the prob 1. but of cos if ur suggestions are actually carried out it would be better.Originally posted by ShutterBug:I feel that if no compensation is automatically offered by the hospital;
1) the doctors involved, and the hospital should be answerable to the patient's death - family should sue for all damages plus legal costs.
2) All medical fees and or costs in hospitalisation of the deceased be waived completely
3) Funeral costs will also be paid by the doctors involved
This will bring closure.
in my above post, i'm not saying that those careless docs are rite too, i'm just trying to say that give them a break on the blamings alrdy, i believe they themselves are alrdy very guilty since the incident. and moreover whats done canot be undone alrdy mah... tio bo? -
I think you guys are too passionate. As the report says, the patients knows about her enlarged heart and did not warn the attending doctors when they are trying to drain her lungs. It shows that doctors will try to alleviate the patients condition but the patient must be responsible to report to the doctors involved about their medical condition.Originally posted by sgquitter:dead person not big shot right? then no problem liao.
great to be docs in SG .
make mistake during training? no prob... more guinea pigs there... -
Originally posted by Herzog_Zwei:
Read the report again. The first doctor DID know about the enlarged heart, but did not tell the second one. And BOTH of them did not bother to double-check.
I think you guys are too passionate. As the report says, the patients knows about her enlarged heart and [b]did not warn the attending doctors when they are trying to drain her lungs. It shows that doctors will try to alleviate the patients condition but the patient must be responsible to report to the doctors involved about their medical condition. [/b] -
if you are rich you can sue, otherwise.....
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Originally posted by Herzog_Zwei:
Wait, 2 questions;
I think you guys are too passionate. As the report says, the patients knows about her enlarged heart and [b]did not warn the attending doctors when they are trying to drain her lungs. It shows that doctors will try to alleviate the patients condition but the patient must be responsible to report to the doctors involved about their medical condition. [/b]
>> are patients supposed to be medically knowledgeable as the doctors to to warn them about procedures??
>> doctors should know, and do all precautionary checks
I bet you the doctors would've been more attentive if she had been a minister's family member.. -
The two potential defendants in the case, Dr Akash Verma, 33, and Dr Wijeweera Olivia, 25, will thus not have any charges brought against them.
yAH, its not professional negligence, its professional IGNORANCE!!
Look at their age!! do they have any experience as a surgeon? in singapore you need to study 7 years, to be GP then another 4 years to be surgeon...you should be at least 35 years then!
25 year old puny, knows NUTs about operation!
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Further investigations revealed that Dr Wijeweera had seen Madam Lee's enlarged heart from the same CT scan which showed the fluid around her left lung. However, she did not inform Dr Verma, who had not seen the CT scan, about this condition before the chest tube insertion started.
INDEPENDENT EXPERT
Dr Lim Chong Hee, senior consultant at the National Heart Centre's department of cardiothoracic surgery, was called as an independent medical expert to give his opinion on whether there was any medical negligence.
His report noted that there was no requirement to view the CT scan of the chest before the chest tube insertion.
But it would have been wise for Dr Verma to have done so in this case because he was unfamiliar with the patient's case and the CT scan was already available.Dr Lim also noted that the inexperienced Dr Wijeweera should have prepared for the case thoroughly.
Some quotes from report that these 2 doctors are inexperienced! -
I would scold him like mad, and reprimand him for he should have ensured everything before doing things he's unsure of.Originally posted by boredandsleepy:i wouldnt rule out all doctors to be fcuk sh!t. alot of them are nice ppl who really take xtra care for their patients.
theres always a black sheep in the family, and those 2 happen to be the black sheep of the medical family in sg. i believe they would have been dispised by their fellow doctors in the same field alrdy. so give them a break they are still human.
u can ask "what if the old lady was ur mother/grandmother?"
now i ask u back "what if the doctor is ur bro/father?"
are u going to give him the red card in ur life and not giving him moral support to tide over this period?
Doing operations involves life and death, it shouldnt be taken so simplistically.