Mystery over kidney removed in botched Rajasthan surgery deepens

Jaipur: Rajasthan health department's investigation into a botched kidney surgery at a private hospital in Jhunjhunu on May 15 has called it 'medical negligence.' The report, however, has not mentioned the whereabouts of the healthy kidney which was removed by doctors in place of an infected one from a 30-year-old woman.

Based on the investigation report submitted by a govt committee, Jhunjhunu SP Rajarshi Raj Varma has filed an FIR under Sections 337 and 338 of the IPC for medical negligence. "We are probing other angles too," Varma said.

Relatives of Eid Banu, the victim, alleged that doctors at Dhankar Hospital did not hand over the kidney after its removal, while treating doctor Sanjay Dhankar claimed that he had handed it over to the attendants. "The doctor told us that they had thrown it in the garbage bin," Eid Banu's cousin, Sehzad Ali, said.

"We have handed over the kidney to the family of the patient. A video recording was done," Dr Dhankar said.

He said that he had operated the right part of her body to remove the right-hand side kidney, which was infected. But, during the operation, the left kidney was removed.

The doctor had performed the surgery without taking help of a CT scan to locate the kidney and ignored other tests that could have provided him a better idea of the location of the infected kidney. The govt has sealed the hospital and Banu has been shifted to another hospital for treatment.