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Medical negligence kills teen footballer; sparks public outrage in Tamil Nadu

Teen footballer Priya passes away over complications in knee surgery

Priya, a 17-year-old footballer in Tamil Nadu, who passed away owing to a mistake in the surgery she was subjected to, is a fresh example of how medical error can be a major problem. Even as protests mounted in the south Indian state, the police have registered a case of “unnatural death”.

The teenaged footballer died due to a botched knee surgery. She had undergone surgery for a ligament tear in her right knee. Post-surgery complication led to multi-organ failure and this is said to be the cause of her death.

Two doctors who had performed the surgery have been suspended, after they were found guilty of medical negligence. Priya was a state-level football player, and had complained of pain in her legs soon after the surgery was one on her, at the Periyar Nagar Hospital in Chennai city on November 7.

Teen footballer was a promising player

Post-surgery, the doctors had put a compression bandage on her leg. She was prescribed medication so as to ease the pain. However, as time went by, her condition had worsened, and she had to be shifted to the Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital in Chennai. Sadly, the doctors who conducted a few test on her found that the tissues in her limb were dead and so advised amputation of the leg. 

Though this procedure was also performed, Priya’s condition continued to deteriorate. This forced another surgery a week later, on November 4. However, multiple organ failure resulted in her death a day later. The whole episode has come as a shock to all. Her parents were devastated and have now called for the arrest of the doctors.

A serious case of medical negligence

The state government has taken the incident as a serious case of medical negligence, and said that the two doctors who had performed the surgery on teenager were guilty. The state administration has announced a monetary compensation for Priya’s family. Besides, one of her family members would be offered a government job.

The death of the footballer who held promise has triggered outrage in Tamil Nadu. In the wake of the incidents and public outrage, the government has ordered a probe into the episode. It is believed that the surgery might have went fine, but the compression bandage had been so tight that it halted circulation of blood, leaving the tissues non-functional. The stoppage of blood flow had caused her veins to decay.

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Sanjeev Ramachandran

A journalist with 23 years of experience, Sanjeev has worked with reputed media houses such as Business Standard, The Ne More »

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