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A Singapore doctor has been charged with causing his patient's death following a botched surgery
According to the Straits Times, 54-year-old urologist Dr Fong Yan Kit mistakenly caused the death of his patient, a 63-year-old woman, during a kidney surgery at Raffles Hospital on 29 April 2022.
He is accused of committing a negligent act not amounting to culpable homicide.
A coroner's inquiry found that the patient had undergone surgery to remove a kidney growth and died at the hospital three days later due to the procedure.
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Image via Zakir Rushanly / PexelsCourt documents allege that Dr Fong severed the patient's superior mesenteric artery and coeliac trunk during the surgery, instead of her renal vein
These vessels supplied vital blood to her abdominal organs.
However, it was alleged that Dr Fong realised the error during surgery and paused for 13 minutes, but did not acknowledge the mistake or call for assistance.
He allegedly concluded the surgery without confirming that he had severed the correct blood vessels.
In an expert report cited by the coroner, Prof Christopher Cheng of the Academy of Medicine in Singapore stated that any competent surgeon would have realised that too many blood vessels unrelated to the kidney had been ligated and transected.
"The consequences of ignoring the obvious clues and making no attempts to correct the situation while the opportunity may still exist while the patient is still in the operating theatre is incomprehensible."
Singapore's State Courts. Image used for illustration purposes only.
Image via Straits TimesDr Fong was accused of not being forthcoming during the proceedings
His first medical report allegedly omitted that he had mistakenly severed the wrong arteries.
A follow-up report from Raffles Hospital allegedly "skirted around the fact that the coeliac trunk and the superior mesenteric artery were transected due to an identification error on the part of Dr Fong," the state coroner said.
Despite the charge, Dr Fong is still listed as a doctor working at Raffles Hospital, according to the Singapore Medical Council's website.
His case has been adjourned to April. If convicted, he could face up to two years in jail, a fine, or both.
