A 10-year-old boy who was suffering from appendicitis died after a doctor allegedly lacerated one of his internal organs during surgery.
Lorna Palagtiosa, a resident of Sitio Kasagingan in Barangay Lawaan 3 in Talisay City, filed a complaint against the doctor at the local police station following the death of his son, Harvey Jarkhin Mutia, last month.
SunStar Cebu is withholding the name of the doctor pending his comment on the allegations against him.
Officials of the Talisay District Hospital, where the boy underwent surgery, vowed to investigate the incident.
Palagtiosa claimed that she and Harvey went to the hospital last Aug. 23 to have him checked for a sore stomach.
But while the doctor handling Harvey only gave them a prescription, Palagtiosa and her husband decided to have their son admitted to the Talisay District Hospital to ensure his recovery.
The next day, doctors told Palagtiosa that they needed to operate on Harvey after they found that he had appendicitis.
The doctor in question conducted the surgery on Harvey on the afternoon of Aug. 27.
Palagtiosa and her live-in partner were later informed by hospital personnel that the operation was successful.
Two hours after, however, Palagtiosa was suddenly told by doctors that they needed to transfer Harvey to another hospital after his condition reportedly worsened.
Harvey was transferred to the Cebu South General Hospital in Barangay Tuyan, City of Naga the next day.
But Harvey died just before he arrived in the hospital.
Harvey’s death certificate revealed that he died due to multiple organ failure secondary to immediate complication of surgical procedure.
Palagtiosa claimed that one of her son’s intestines was heavily injured during the operation and the doctor handling the surgery allegedly didn’t notice it.
In a separate interview, Dr. Joannes Paul Miranda, Talisay District Hospital chief medical professional staff II, said they are doing an internal investigation on the incident.
Miranda said they already met with Palagtiosa and her live-in partner to get their side on the incident.
They plan to summon the doctor in question soon. (JKV With DRT of Superbalita Cebu)