Mumbai: Family calls for probe against doctor for 'botched' surgeries

Following mid-day’s report yesterday about a 17-year-old in Kalyan who has been unable to walk properly ever since he underwent surgery to gain a few inches in height, the teenager’s mother has complained to the Sion Police

Following mid-day’s report yesterday about a 17-year-old in Kalyan who has been unable to walk properly ever since he underwent surgery to gain a few inches in height, the teenager’s mother has complained to the Sion Police, alleging that it was the doctor who bungled the six surgeries meant to increase her son’s height, leaving him crippled instead.

This paper carried a front-page report on 17-year-old Prem Patel, who got tired of taunts about his height (5’1”) and decided to opt for a limb lengthening surgery at Sion Hospital (Six ‘make me tall’ surgeries later, teen can now barely walk, August 17). On Monday, his mother Meena approached the Sion police with a letter of complaint against Dr Binoti Sheth, who carried out the treatment on Prem.

The Patel family, which spent all of their life savings of Rs 3 lakh on six surgeries to increase Prem’s height and help him walk again, met Senior Police Inspector Y C Gorde of Sion police station and handed him the application alleging the doctor was responsible for Prem’s crippled state and for the infection he had contracted in his leg post surgery.

“My son could walk perfectly before the surgeries took place, but now I am dying to see him walk on his own. He has been unable to walk properly on his own since the first surgery on June 25, 2013. I want the cops to take action against the doctor for experimenting on my son,” said Meena. She further added, “We have lost all our savings in the surgeries conducted on him and we wish to get our money back as all the surgeries were unsuccessful.”

Cop speak
“The kin of the victim approached me and handed over the application letter. We will now start investigating. We will take the statement of the victim and call the doctor they have accused,” said Gorde.

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