Medical negligence has many victims. The alleged victim this time is a worker named Hisham Abdel-Mohsen Bayoumi, who claims that a series of surgical operations led to the amputation of his left leg as a result of a doctors negligence at Helwan and Mabarret al-Maadi hospitals.
The breadwinner for a family of five has filed a lawsuit in order to gain compensation for his tragic loss. His story begins with his visit to the private clinic of the chief surgeon at the Helwan General Hospital’s orthopedics department, where he was diagnosed with gout. At the surgeon’s request, he was given an appointment for an operation at the state’s expense.
Bayoumi assumed that after his treatment he would be fine, but the initial procedure resulted in an infection taking hold of his limb.
“A new phase of suffering has begun, he said. “They installed a piece of platinum and eight nails in the left leg. After a while, the physician asked me to go to Helwan Hospital to get the leg cleaned. I went there and was operated on, but after six days I discovered I was gravely inficted with gangrene.
“The doctors tried to clean the leg, which only led to the exacerbation of infection. The hospital manager denied me access to the operating theater, claiming that my feet were contaminated and needed continuous sterilization for 48 hours, Bayoumi said.
Bayoumi says the sent several complaints to the Minister of Health after he discovered from doctors that his condition has not required surgical intervention in the first place.
“A three member-committee attended and asked me about what had happened, and requested me to wait for further treatment at the hospital, said Bayoumi. “But I refused because of the maltreatment I previously received. So they decided to transfer me to Al-Maadi Hospital to complete the treatment and avoid a disaster.
However, at Al-Maadi Hospital, he says a decision was suddenly issued by the hospital administration to stop his treatment without giving reasons. He was then asked to leave the hospital.
“They also told my family to come and take me away, on the grounds that the proper treatment for my case is not available, even though they diagnosed me when I arrived and confirmed that I needed a surgery on the left leg, he said.
My cousin, a doctor, intervened and contacted the hospital manager to find out the reason for their decision. The hospital manager informed my cousin that there were problems with the bone in the infected leg and treatment of this case was not available at the hospital.
“But my cousin managed to persuade him to keep me there and treat me, even though the hospital manager said he had no confidence in the efficiency of the hospital staff. They decided to conduct graft operations on the leg muscles.
However, the operation failed, and Bayoumi says the failure was a consequence of medical negligence.
My leg started bleeding constantly and a rotten smell began to get out of my leg, not to mention the pain I feel and the spread of worms, he said.
“After the situation worsened the hospital manager came to me and mocked me. After that they conducted another operation in which a doctor at the hospital cut my leg off.
Following the last surgery, Bayoumi headed to Nasser Institute for follow-up, but the doctors there refused to complete treatment and returned him to Al-Maadi Hospital.
The victim concluded his story, saying, I lost my leg and I have no source of income now, having lost my future at the hands of doctors. The only way I have now is to resort to the judiciary to get compensation.
