Telangana: Tubectomy operations rush job, say victims' kin

HYDERABAD: Family members of patients - who underwent botched tubectomy procedures at the Ibrahimpatnam Civil hospital recently - say their surgeries were rushed. They say there was less than half an hour between each surgery even though it takes even up to an hour for proper sterilization and preparation.
Four women lost their lives at the government-organised camp for tubectomy procedures on August 25 and nine others continue to be hospitalised.
Speaking to TOI, the brother-in-law of a 25-year-old woman - who was among the 34 women who underwent the surgery at the camp - said, "They were calling women within half an hour or even less. The doctors told the women that it (procedure) takes just one to two minutes for one person and that they need not wait for long after the surgery." Another relative said that patients were never counselled or asked to come back if there were any complications.
Speaking about their mental state, the husband of another patient, said: "We never thought the procedure could turn fatal. When we got to know of some women dying, we panicked. We will never allow any other woman in our family to go for this surgery."
Incidentally, taking medical history, running basic check ups of blood pressure and other parameters, counselling before and after the procedure itself means spending 10 to 15 minutes on each patient, experts said.
"Cleaning of equipment can take anywhere between 25 minutes to 60 minutes, depending on the technique used. However, the standard is 30 minutes of proper sterilization process. Even if there are many sets of equipment, a single doctor doing 34 procedures in a day could mean rushing things. Things were not organized properly," said an official from the state health department.
Meanwhile, some of the women who developed complications following the botched tubectomy underwent a minor procedure to clear out infection, two days ago. All women who had developed complications including the four women - who had major complications and succumbed - had complained of vomiting and stomach ache. The survivors were found to have infection at the surgical site, which was cleared up with a minor surgery as per official sources.
"The patients have been kept under medical observation at various hospitals in Hyderabad as a measure of abundant precaution. All the patients are stable and doing well. They are likely to be discharged in the next couple of days," said Dr G Srinivasa Rao, director, public health, Telangana.
All DPL double puncture laparoscopic tubectomy camps have been suspended by the government after the incident and the procedure is being reviewed.