Shivamogga, Jul 7: In a case of sheer negligence, the staff of a private hospital here have lost the cranial bone that was removed from the brain of a man who had sustained head injuries after falling from an areca nut tree.
H G Ramesh (28), a resident of Harobenavalli near Shivamogga, had a fall while tying a cable to the tree on March 15. He was admitted to Nanjappa Hospital in Shivamogga. Dr Balaji Srinivas, a neurosurgeon at the hospital, performed brain surgery on him, removing the cranial bone to clean the haematoma. The injury was then left to dry and the doctor was supposed to refix the cranial bone.
After the surgery, however, the patient’s condition worsened and he was referred to Narayana Hospital in Bengaluru for further treatment. Another surgery was conducted in the Bengaluru hospital. The patient’s family asked Nanjappa Hospital to return the cranial bone, but the staff could not find it despite thoroughly searching for it.
The hospital finally admitted that the cranial bone had gone missing but promised to foot the bill for an artificial cranial bone. Accordingly, it will pay Rs 2.5 lakh for the artificial cranial bone that would be transplanted into Ramesh’s brain.
H Vasanth Kumar, a relative of Ramesh, said: “We fear the artificial cranial bone may not be as strong as the original. This incident clearly shows the negligence of the hospital authorities.” He further said the family had already spent around Rs 6 lakh on Ramesh’s treatment.
Nanjappa Hospital medical superintendent Shantaveerappa said: “It is not clear how we lost the cranial bone. The doctor who conducted the surgery is no longer working at our hospital. The hospital’s managing director, Avinash, has gone abroad and the matter would be resolved when he returns.”
Ramesh was working as a cable operator in the village besides carrying out farming.
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