Published: Tuesday November 3, 2009 MYT 9:41:00 PM
Liposuction did not cause patient’s death, court told
By LISA GOH
KUALA LUMPUR: The abdominal liposuction performed on Nik Rosemawati Nik Mohammed could not have caused or contributed to her deteriorating condition which led to her death five years ago, the High Court heard.
Plastic surgeon Dr George Varughese, in taking the stand, told the court that the liposuction procedure on June 21, 2004, had gone on “uneventfully” and was completed successfully, before the patient suffered a cardiac arrest minutes later.
Dr Varughese, a defendant in the case, said Nik Rosemawati was then resuscitated, and transferred to the intensive care unit at the Gleneagles Medical Centre.
According to the plaintiff’s statement of claim, her condition then continued to deteriorate, and she passed away two days later without regaining consciousness.
“I have done thousands of liposuctions. The first thing I tell my patients is that they could die from the procedure, and then I tell them all the risks.
“But liposuction does not cause cardiac arrest,” he told the court on Tuesday.
When put to him, he denied that he had failed in his duty to the patient, or that he had conducted the procedure negligently, causing the patient’s death.
Nik Rosemawati’s husband Matthew Scott Oakley had filed the suit in 2006, against Dr Varughese, the proprietor of a clinic in Bangsar, and freelance anaesthetist consultant Dr Raja Kumar Rajendram, claiming that they had been negligent while treating his wife.
The 39-year-old British civil engineer, who now resides in Dubai, said his 43-year-old wife, a diabetic, sought treatment from Dr Varughese for excess abdominal fat after giving birth to their two children.
In his statement of claim, Oakley -- who is seeking RM520,431 in damages for loss and suffering -- said a post-mortem revealed that his wife suffered from extensive internal haemorrhaging.
Her cause of death was listed as “acute Intra-abdominal injury.”
Standing as counsel for Oakley was lawyer Renu Zechariah, while Dr Varughese and Dr Raja Kumar were represented by lawyers Darryl Goon and Suria Kumar D.J. Paul, respectively.
However, Universiti Malaya anaesthesiology and critical care Prof Emeritus Datuk Dr Alex Delilkan told the court that based on the documents made available to him, he was of the opinion that the infiltrations made in the course of the procedure could have pierced through the patient’s peritoneum affecting her blood pressure.
“This caused her to have irregular heart rhythms, which resulted in the cardiac arrest,” he said.
Dr Delilkan, a defence witness, also added that it was his opinion that the patient, who had also suffered from cerebral edema (swelling of the brain), had been given “ineffective cerebral-protection” at both the clinic and the hospital.
The hearing before Judicial Commissions Harminder Singh Dhaliwal continues on Wednesday.
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