A 37-year-old woman, who was hoping to conceive after an operation, died due to an alleged overdose of anaesthesia at a private nursing home in Sadashivnagar on Friday. Vaishali, a resident of Anchepete in the city, was admitted to Ganesh Nursing Home on Friday at around 8 a.m. and was scheduled for a myomectomy (surgical removal of fibroids in the uterus) in the afternoon.
A relative told The Hindu that the family believes Ms. Vaishali died due to an overdose of anaesthesia administered to her at the nursing home. Her husband Bharat Kumar Jain has lodged a complaint with the Sadashivnagar police against the nursing home and Devaraj, the doctor who was handling the case.
“Barely 20 minutes after Vaishali was administered an injection, the doctors told Bharat that she had fits. However, when we told them that she was not an epileptic, they went back inside. A few minutes later, they said Vaishali was being shifted to the ward as they would be conducting the operation only the next day. But when we went into the ward, her hands were shaking and she was unable to breathe properly,” said Phool Chand, a relative.
The doctors then decided to shift her to Fortis Hospital, where she was declared dead after an examination.
The family hails from Rajasthan but has been residing in the city for decades.
The family said Ms. Vaishali and her husband had been trying to have a baby for the last 13 years and had decided to opt for in vitro fertilisation (IVF).
“She was advised to get the fibroids removed and a family friend recommended Dr. Devaraj for the operation. After her death, we have been constantly trying to contact Dr. Devaraj, but he is not accessible,” Ms. Phool Chand said.
Dr. Devaraj, who was handling the case, has his own clinic in Sheshadripuram.
The staff at Ganesh Nursing Home said Dr. Devaraj brings his patients to their clinic for operations.
Though repeated attempts were made to contact Dr. Devaraj, he remained inaccessible. The nursing home is owned by Amarnath, who was also unavailable for comment.
The Sadashivnagar police have registered a case of negligence against Dr. Devaraj and the Ganesh Nursing Home.
The post-mortem report from M.S. Ramaiah Hospital is expected in three days.
