New Delhi : The NCDRC bench comprising of Dr. S.M. Kantikar and Binoy Kumar held AIIMS doctor guilty of medical negligence as the patient losthis voice after the surgery for the ‘Anterior Mediastinum Tumor’. NCDRC said “Theoperative procedure adopted by the doctor and hospital was an accepted reasonable standard of practice, but not having proper informed consent, amounts to negligence per se”.NCDRC further observed that the patient was a doctor himselfbutwas not informed about the postoperative complications of nerve injury during such surgery, which was likely to cause loss of voice and restricted diaphragm movements.
AIIMS doctors performed surgery Median ‘Sternotomy’ and ‘Thymectomy’. After the operation, the Complainant was told by the doctor that he had to cut his left Phrenic Nerve as the same was passing through the Thymaic mass and there was no other option left to remove the thymas mass. The consequence of cutting off the left Phrenic Nerve was that his left diaphragm was raised and exists like this till date. Accused Doctor based on the HPE report advised radiotherapy as a proper treatment, but Complainant did not show any improvement in his voice or movement of the left vocal cord. The Complainant doctor (physician) in his affidavit stated that pre-operatively the AIIMS doctor did not discuss the possibility of cutting/injury to the phrenic nerve. The AIIMS doctor on his own cut the phrenic nerve causing complete left diaphragm paralysis for the rest of his life. The post-operative notes or in the discharge summary did not mention about cutting of left RLN. Being aggrieved the Complainant doctor filed complaint before the State Commission and claimed an amount of Rs. 65,25,000/- as compensation.