Medical complications or negligence?: Liver transplant patient died while undergoing second surgery

The cause of his death was hepatorenal syndrome, where the hepatic artery was ruptured which resulted in renal failure

ISLAMABAD:

Attaullah Baloch, the first to undergo living donor liver transplant surgery at Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences’ (Pims) died of complications.

The cause of his death was hepatorenal syndrome, according to a member of the team which performed the surgery, requesting anonymity.

Baloch had recovered after the surgery but developed some complications. He underwent a second operation on May 7, during which his hepatic artery was ruptured which resulted in renal failure.

Pims spokesperson Dr Waseem Khawaja, however, said Baloch, 36, was put on the ventilator on May 7 after he died and on May 8, he was pronounced dead. “His body was immediately handed over to his family on Tuesday night.”

When asked to comment on the cause of the patient’s death, he said, “It is too early to say what caused Baloch’s death, but he died due to complications.”

Dr Khawaja claimed that the surgery cost around Rs5 million which was donated by the government. Baloch came from Khuzdar, Balochistan and was the first patient to receive a live donor liver transplant at the hospital’s Liver Transplant Centre on May 2.

Baloch underwent surgery after his wife donated a portion of her liver. He was suffering from hepatitis B which developed into chronic liver disease.

The surgery, carried out by a team of British and Pakistani surgeons, started early morning on May 2 and ended at 2am the next day.

After the surgery, the staff, somehow, failed to administer medicines, including antibiotic injections, to Baloch on time, which annoyed the British surgeon, said sources in the centre.

The team of local surgeons did not have a single qualified liver surgeon. The one heading the unit is a general surgeon.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 11^th, 2012.