Patna: The ethics committee of the Medical Council of India has recommended suspension of a Patna doctor for leaving a pair of forceps inside the abdomen of a 75-year-old patient, Kailash Prasad.
Recommending suspension of Dr V N Sinha for a period of 3 months, the MCI order, a copy of which has been sent to the secretary of the health department, states, “The members of the expert committee have seen Prasad’s X-ray plates which clearly show a foreign body stuck inside his abdomen. This is a serious act of omission on the part of the doctor.”
The committee has also directed the Bihar Medical Council to remove Dr Sinha’s name from the state register.
Prasad, a retired principal of MS College, Motihari was operated upon by Dr Sinha for the removal of his appendix in 1998. However, in 1999, Prasad developed incisional hernia for which he was again operated by the same doctor that year. In the course of the operation, Dr Sinha left a pair of forceps in Prasad’s abdomen.
His son, Akhilesh said that his father later developed some complications after the second operation. After futile attempts in 2002 and 2004, Â Prasad approached the ethics committee of the MCI. The ethics committee ruled out negligence on the part of the doctor. Prasad then filed a petition in the Patna high court. In July this year, the court “quashed the MCI order” and ordered it to conduct a fresh probe.