KUALA LUMPUR – A teenage boy who had gone to Ampang Hospital for an allergic reaction and genital discharge left only months later – with various body parts amputated.
Now, his parents are suing the hospital and Health Ministry for negligence.
The then 15-year-old was sent to Ampang Hospital on January 15, 2019. Two days later, his parents claimed he was discharged without recovering fully, and without a thorough explanation from medical personnel about his condition.
On January 22, the teenager fainted and was taken to the emergency room.
According to the statement of claim filed by the plaintiffs: "The second plaintiff (teenager) was examined and given treatment around three hours later."
A day later, the teen fell into a coma and was placed in the intensive care unit (ICU).
His parents said they were also given a consent form to sign that gave no indication of the risks and treatments that would be prescribed.
While their son was in the ICU, said the parents, his hands and a foot began turning black.
Later, the hospital's cardiologists, paediatricians and orthopaedic doctors informed the parents that there was a possibility their son had cancer or had contracted HIV.
A month later, when the teen woke up from his coma, his hands and foot began oozing foul-smelling fluid.
On March 4, the patient was referred to a cardiologist at Serdang Hospital, who performed a biopsy as it was suspected the teenager had a heart condition.
"The plaintiffs emphasised that the specialist only asked the consent of the father a few minutes before the biopsy... the plaintiff was informed that, without consent, the patient could die," the statement of claim read.
But on March 14, the parents were informed that in order to save their son's life, his left hand and right foot would have to be amputated. A day later, the teen lost both these appendages.
On March 28, Dr Siti Aminah Che Mat told the parents that their son had contracted tuberculosis (TB) and would need treatment for 480 days.
However, just a month later, specialists from Ampang Hospital told the couple that the TB diagnosis was merely a suspicion.
"The plaintiffs claim that the consumption of TB medication in the long run, when the patient did not suffer from TB, had affected and weakened his immune system and caused irrecoverable damage," the statement of claim added.
The parents also claimed that after pestering another specialist in charge of treating their son, they were informed that he was suffering from a disease called peripheral gangrene.
During a check-up on May 29, the patient's father was informed that the back of the teen's left foot had to be amputated. The parents consented to the procedure.
Things took an even darker turn in July.
A meeting was held between the teenager's father and other medical professionals.
Ampang Hospital deputy director Dr Zulfadli Yunus told the patient's father that the hospital had made a mistake in giving his son an anaesthetic dose.
"These officials also apologised for the mistake, and informed us that the patient's life could be saved, but not his left hand and right foot," the statement of claim said.
On July 24, the patient had the toes on his left foot amputated.
"After the first, second and third amputations, Ampang Hospital referred the patient to specialists at other hospitals, including Kuala Lumpur Hospital and Cheras Rehabilitation Hospital, for check-ups," the statement of claim read.
"Because the amputation on the right knee of the patient did not heal properly, the Cheras Rehabilitation Hospital advised that the patient undergo corrective surgery on the right knee stump."
The parents said they believe that if the hospital and doctors had performed the earlier amputations with expertise and professionalism, the fourth amputation would not have been necessary.
In the statement of claim dated December 11, the teen's parents are suing the hospital and Health Ministry for negligence. – The Vibes, January 22, 2021
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