The patient lost all her mental and physical abilities after the botched surgery.
Three doctors, accused of medical malpractice and negligence in a botched surgery that left an Emirati woman permanently disabled, have each been sentenced to one year each in jail by the Dubai Court of Misdemeanors.
The three doctors, including a 59-year-old surgeon (a Dominican Republic national), a 65-year-old anaesthetist and an anaesthetic technician, 69, both Syrians, have been found guilty of malpractice and negligence during the surgery of 25-year-old Rowda Al Maeeni. The procedure was to correct a minor nose defect.
However, after the surgery went wrong, Al Maeeni lost all her mental and physical abilities, including her sight and hearing. She fell into a coma after the surgery, suffering a 100 per cent disability. Because of the surgery, Al Maeeni became totally dependent on others and in need of constant and round-the-clock medical assistance and nurse care.
As per the court ruling issued on Wednesday, the medical centre should also pay Dh300,000 worth of a fine and all the three doctors will be deported after completing their jail term.
Earlier, only one doctor showed up for the hearing. He denied the charge.
Dubai attorney general Issam Issa Al Humaidan referred the case to the court earlier in January. An investigation conducted by the Dubai public prosecution, which had medical reports, mainly the final report by the Higher Committee for Medical Liability in the UAE, as evidence, found that the medics committed serious mistakes that caused major health problems to the patient.
The three doctors had their licenses suspended by the Dubai Health Authority (DHA), and the medical centre where they worked was ordered closed until further notice.
A final report by the Higher Committee for Medical Liability in the UAE released in November last year blamed the three doctors for the severe deterioration in the health condition of Al Maeeni.
The case dates back to April last year when the patient visited the medical centre because of some breathing difficulty. She was then advised to undergo a surgery to fix a bone in her nose. The surgery was scheduled at the one-day-surgery medical centre, which is not suitable for that kind of surgeries, according to the investigation report. That report revealed that there were critical errors during that surgery.
Timeline of the case:
In April 2019, Rowda Al Maeeni visited the medical facility and underwent a nose surgery. She slipped into a coma and became permanently disabled.
In May 2019, the DHA suspended all surgeries at the clinic. It suspended the licences of the doctors pending the investigation.
In November 2019, the Higher Committee for Medical Liability in the UAE issued its final report which held the doctors responsible for the patient’s deteriorated health condition.
In early January 2020, Dubai public prosecution referred the case to court charging the trio with medical malpractice and negligence.
January 20: The trial began.
March 18: The doctors were found guilty.
