Yet another death has been reported in the city following complications of anaesthesia administration. This time it is 16-year-old R. Abhishek, who died on Wednesday after he suffered a cardiac arrest during the procedure.
The boy, who was admitted to Panacea Hospital in Basaveshwaranagar on March 17 for a gynecomastia surgery (essentially a cosmetic surgery to reduce breast size), was shifted to Columbia Asia Hospital in Yeshwantpur on March 18 after he suffered the cardiac arrest. After battling for life for nearly 48 hours, the teen breathed his last at Columbia Asia Hospital on Wednesday.
In a state of coma
Columbia doctors said he was brought in a state of coma with maximum life support on March 18.
Denying medical negligence, C. Jayanna, managing director of Panacea Hospital, said the boy suffered a cardiopulmonary attack as soon as he was given anaesthesia. “Our doctors immediately revived him and put him on ventilator. He was shifted to Columbia Asia as the family wanted it.”
Kamala Janakiraman, head, medical services, Panacea Hospital, said the boy was given general anaesthesia and also a local infiltration to reduce bleeding in the local part during surgery. “It is not an overdose as alleged by the parents.”
Both facilities criticised
Abhishek’s father, S. Ramesh, Superintendent in the Horticulture Department, Gadag, told The Hindu he believed it was an anaesthesia overdose that killed his son during the surgery to remove “lump in the chest region”. He also blamed Columbia Asia Hospital for keeping the family in the dark about his son’s condition and not informing them that he was “brain dead” after he was admitted.
However, he said he would not file a police complaint as the family was averse to handing over the body for a post-mortem that would entail lodging of a police complaint.
The family took the body away to their residence in Kodigehalli for cremation.
Abhishek had recently completed his I PUC at Vidyamandira in Malleswaram and was looking forward to joining II PUC.
Two other similar instances were reported in the city’s hospitals last month. While three-year-old Sirish died of anaesthesia complications at a private dental clinic when he was taken there for a dental procedure, 31-year-old Asha died on the operation table in State-run Victoria Hospital when she had gone there for an ENT surgery.
