Net Care

Net Care

A CARDIOTHORACIC surgeon and Netcare Milpark Hospital are facing a R4.8 million damages claim from a Zambian businessman who went to hospital for a coronary artery bypass procedure, and had his left lower leg amputated after complications set in.

Shabir Ahmed Limbada is blaming Dr Atulkumar Patel and the staff at Milpark Hospital for the loss of his lower leg. Both the specialist and the hospital are denying any wrong-doing.

They said they treated Limbada with care and skill.

Limbada, 59, who lives in Lusaka, said he suffered from chest pains during 2009 and he was referred by doctors in Zambia to South Africa.

Patel suggested surgery, and Limbada was admitted to Milpark Hospital on May 22, 2009 for a heart bypass.

The bypass was done and the specialist inserted an aortic balloon pump into his groin area, which is connected to a monitor, to assist with his blood circulation.

Limbada was meanwhile admitted to the intensive care unit.

He said the specialist did not give the nursing staff proper instructions and that he was not proactive in giving him the necessary care at the time when he complained about severe pain in his leg. He said things became worse when the balloon pump was removed.
Limbada’s advocate, WP de Waal SC, told the court yesterday that the family would testify that they alerted a nurse about his pain and “she was quite dismissive”, and that Patel was at the Wanderers watching the final of the IPL cricket tournament.

It appeared that the other doctor, who Patel said he was going to ask to look in on Limbada, didn’t turn up.

The brother-in-law phoned Patel again later that night when they noticed the patient’s condition worsening.

Patel, however, assured him that all was in order. The doctor said he had spoken to the nurses, who had told him everything was fine, and he told the family not to worry.

When Limbada’s pain became even worse, he was eventually given morphine.

Patel visited his patient the next morning and diagnosed compartment syndrome, and subsequently had the leg amputated. The nurse who spoke to the specialist that night was expected to testify that he had told her to monitor the leg during the night, which she and the night staff did.

De Waal said Patel was the “captain of the ship” and he should have reacted when the family phoned him about Limbada being in pain. He added this did not exonerate the staff, as they could clearly see the foot was swollen and that it felt cold to the touch.

Pain, he said, was also a clear indication of compartmental syndrome.

Patel, in court papers, said Limbada was stable after the balloon was removed. He admitted that while in ICU the patient developed compromised circulation of the leg and compartment syndrome, which resulted in the amputation. He denied the complications were due to any negligence on his part.

The trial continues.