Surgical failure in Talisay?: Mother blames doctor for death of her son

CEBU, Philippines — A mother who lost her son to an alleged surgical failure is planning to file a complaint against a doctor at the Talisay City District Hospital.

Lorna Palagtiosa, 35, a resident of Sitio Kasagingan, Barangay Lawaan 3, Talisay City, went to the city police station early morning yesterday to ask for an affidavit of complaint to formally file a case.

She recalled that she and her common-law husband went to the hospital last August 23 to have their 10-year-old son Harvey Jarkhin checked due to severe stomach pain.

The doctors gave them prescriptions, but to ensure the safety of their son, they chose to stay at the emergency room.

Four days later, a surgeon declared that the boy had to immediately undergo operation due to appendicitis.

The surgeon carried out the operation at 4 p.m. that day, and the parents were told it was successful.

But a few hours later, they were told that the boy's platelet count had dropped and that he needed to be transferred to another hospital.

At 2:45 a.m. the following day, her son was referred to South General Hospital in the City of Naga where he was declared dead on arrival.

Harvey Jarkhin was the first of the couple’s two children.

During autopsy, an internal bleeding was noted in the boy's stomach allegedly due to surgical failure. There was also a blood clot in the brain.

“Nagpa-autopsy mi. Naay part sa tinae nakabuka, didto leaking ang dugo. Niana ang nag-autopsy kung gusto mi kasuhon, anytime pwede siya magpa-subpoena aron makipag-abot sa doctor nga nag-opera kay iyahang isaysay ang nakita pag-autopsy ngano naay internal bleeding,” Palagtiosa said.

In the autopsy report, the cause of the boy’s death was multiple organ failure secondary to immediate complication of surgical procedure.

Dr. Joannes Paul Miranda, chief medical professional staff 2 at Talisay District Hospital, said the management is conducting an investigation into the incident.

Hospital officials already met with the parents last week and explained to them what had happened as far as the doctors were concerned.

Miranda added that the management is willing to call the attention of the doctor involved.

Amid the controversy, he assured that the hospital and its doctors are doing its best to save lives, saying they don’t have bad intentions toward their patients.

“Kami kay nangita pud mi og paagi, gitabangan namo ang pasyente kutob sa among makaya. Pero for now, ongoing ang among internal investigation,” Miranda said.

The FREEMAN is withholding the surgeon’s name, pending his statement and the filing of formal charges. (FREEMAN)