Chennai: 15-year-old untrained performs caesarean surgery

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15-year-old untrained performs surgery

Chennai, June 20: The medical fraternity here and in the rest of the

country was on Wednesday aghast to hear that a surgeon in southern

Tamil Nadu had got his 15-year-old son to perform a caesarean

operation to deliver a baby at his nursing home so that the Class 10

boy could enter the Guinness Book of Records.

Doctors attending the monthly meeting of the Manapparai branch of the

Indian Medical Association last month were shocked when one of its

members, Dr K. Murugesan, played a CD of his 15-year old son Dileepan

Raj performing a complicated caesarean surgery to deliver a baby.

The patient was administered spinal anaesthesia by Dr Murugesan

himself, though he is a general surgeon and not an anaesthetist.

" When we protested that his act violated medical ethics and

constituted a crime, Dr Murugesan turned abusive and even threatened

to sue the IMA. We held an emergency meeting and passed an unanimous

resolution referring the issue to the state medical council, which

deputed an observer. The observer, Dr Mahesh Yogaraj, visited

Manaparai to question Dr Murugesan and returned convinced there was

serious violation, " Dr T.N. Ravishankar, secretary of the state

branch of the Indian Medical Association, told this newspaper.

According to a doctor present at the CD show at the Manapparai IMA

meeting, the shocked members had advised Dr Murugesan to destroy the

tape as it could get him and his son into trouble. " He said there

was no need for him to worry since it was no blue film that he had

shot but only one showing his son's achievement, " the doctor said.

While all attempts to contact Dr Murugesan failed — the staff at

his " Mathi Surgical and Maternity Hospital " kept saying that he would

be busy in the operation theatre till well past midnight — a recorded

interview featured in the Tamil biweekly Kumudam Reporter had the

surgeon claiming that he had trained his son from Class 7 onwards and

that the boy had done such surgeries before.

" What is wrong in my son performing a surgery, when a 10-year-old can

drive a car and a 15-year-old can get a medical degree in America? "

the unrepentant surgeon was quoted saying in the Tamil

publication. " We do not have the CD as evidence but there are enough

number of doctors at the Manapparai IMA meeting who have seen it.

Also, Dr Murugesan's statement is damning in itself. We have sent the

report to the ethics committee of the Medical Council and (it) will

recommend suitable action, " said Dr Ravishankar.

According to him, a violation of this nature could lead to the doctor

being debarred under chapter seven of section nine of the code of

ethics of the Medical Council of India. " How can a doctor convert his

nursing home into a butcher's shop by allowing his unqualified son to

perform surgery? " fumed Tamil Nadu's health minister K.K.S.S.R.

Ramachandran. " I am ordering an inquiry and tough action will be

taken, " he told this newspaper.

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