Careless surgery brings child to disability

For 10 y.o. Damira Esskendirova a simple surgery instead of brining relief turned into a constant pain and possible permanent disability due to her doctor’s carelessness, Tengrinews reports citing KTK.

The girl was admitted to the hospital in Petropavlovsk in October 2013 for a toe surgery on her right foot. But for some reason the doctor operated on Damira’s left foot.

"I arrived to the hospital (when Damira was discharged). I bend down to put on her left boot and saw that the foot was in plaster," Damira’s mother Ainagul Razeeva told KTK.

The hospital admitted their fault and promised to pay a 500-thousand tenge ($2750) compensation, Ms. Razeeva said. The mother agreed not to make it public and be content with the compensation, but then the surgeon took a sick leave and the hospital refuse to compensate for the faulty surgery.

The hospital administration developed a new version of events and they now insist that the girl had to be operated on her both feet. When things started developing in this direction the girl's mother filed a lawsuit. She is demanding a compensation of 2 million tenge ($11,000)

The doctor responsible for the operation continues to work in the hospital. "Yes, he is still working. Why should we fire him if everything was done correctly? The trial has not been completed yet and there is no guilty verdict. The necessary medical examinations are being made," the Head Doctor of the Regional Children’s Hospital Oleg Zayalov said.

The girl can hardly walk at all now and is experiencing constant pains. Docators are not planning to make any more surgeries, besides they insist that her condition is a normal post surgery condition. They are giving her massages and physiotherapeutic procedures. 

At the moment, the parents of the girl are trying to get a permanent disability status for their daughter. Ms. Razeeva said that they had filed an application for permanent disability three times but got denied the status every time. "When they refused the second time we asked them to reconsider. But they refused because our daughter came in without a cane or anything like than. But they do not see what happens sometimes when she gets strong spasms and cannot even get up lot alone walk," the mother of the girl said.

"My bones and ligaments ache, my legs hurt at night and when I walk," Damira complained.