Woman loses hand after botched surgery at Vasai hospital

Samanto’s right hand few days after the surgery. Pics/Hanif Patel

A 28-year-old woman whose right hand had to be amputated after a botched up surgery at a private hospital in Vasai has been struggling to register an FIR against the consulting doctor and the facility for months. Saroj Samanto alleged that the hospital is trying to suppress the matter by offering her Rs 25,000. The director of the hospital has denied the allegation.

Samanto is a housemaker and lives in a rented house in Nalasopara East with her husband and two kids. She got her right hand fractured while working in a kitchen last year. "It was November 8, 2021…I was rushed to a municipal hospital after the accidental fall but the doctor was not available there. My husband took me to Siddhivinayak Hospital at Evershine, Vasai East, where Dr Rohit Kewat conducted the surgery," she recalled.

Samanto with her husband Deepak and their two kids

Samanto said she was discharged after 4 days. "My right hand had become numb they said it generally happens and it will be all fine after a few days," she said. In a week's time, Samanto's hand turned fully black. "After seeing the condition of my hand, the doctor referred me to KEM hospital," she recalled.

Her husband Deepak Samanto said KEM doctors sensed the botched-up surgery at first sight. "They told me that the botched-up surgery aggravated my wife's health condition," said Deepak, who works in a jewellery shop at Bhayandar and earns Rs 15,000 a month. At KEM, the doctors first amputated her palm and then the portion by the elbow, he said.

"The couple has been making rounds of police stations in Vasai to file a case against the doctor and Siddhivinayak Hospital but the cops are delaying it for the reason best known to them," said Pradeep Kadam, an activist who has been helping the couple. "When the owner of Siddhivinayak hospital learnt that we are trying to register an FIR against the doctor and hospital, they tried to offer me Rs 25,000 but I want justice for my wife," said Deepak.

Samanto said since she can barely manage the household chores and take care of her children

‘We're helpless'

After losing her hand, Saroj said she became hopeless. "I first thought that why I am alive but I had to survive as my two small daughters need me…I want to survive but I have no money for the treatment…" she said."My husband has been doing all the work. He had to give up his job just because of me. Recently he got a new job in Bhayandar. After returning home from work, he does all the pending work, right from cleaning the utensils to cooking. I feel so helpless as I can't help my husband," sobbed Saroj.

‘It was thrombosis'

Dr Kewat said, "It was a mid-shaft humerus fracture and its biggest complication is the radial nerve injury. Generally, the nerve which supplies power for the movement of the hand gets injured between the broken bones. In a bid to cure the fractured bones, one plate needs to be inserted. So, this patient visited us with the same injury and we suggested them to undergo surgery."

Siddhivinayak Hospital in Vasai where the woman underwent the surgery after she fractured her right hand last year

The doctor said he suspected "thrombosis" after Samanto's hand turned black. "I don't think her hand was amputated because of the nerve injury but because of the thrombosis after which her hand started to turn black." The director of the hospital Pravin Kadam said, "I was called in by an officer at Achole police station two-three months ago, and told them to get a second medical opinion before coming to the conclusion."

Kadam denied rejected Deepak's allegations of offering him money. "At the police station, the husband of the patient [Deepak] indirectly demanded money from me saying that he has spent R5 lakh on the treatment. Why would I offer money to suppress the matter?" Zonal DCP Sanjay Kumar Patil said, "The victim had visited me with a complaint. After understanding her complaint, we have sought the medical opinion of the civil surgeon and the response is awaited."