On Tuesday, November 15, a 17-year-old footballer Priya R, who lost a leg due to alleged medical negligence, passed away at a government hospital in Chennai. Priya R breathed her last at Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital (RGGGH), where she was shifted after surgery to repair a torn ligament in her right knee in the government’s Periyar Hospital near her home went wrong.
The 17-year-old football player was pursuing her BSc in Physical Education at a private college in Chennai. She was residing at Vyasarpadi with her family in Chennai.
? | 18 year-old Chennai based footballer Priya died days after undergoing a surgery that was meant to repair torn ligaments in her right knee to help her play football better, she died from multiple organ failure due to alleged medical negligence. [TNM] #JusticeForPriya pic.twitter.com/aPBLcpct8j
— 90ndstoppage (@90ndstoppage) November 15, 2022
According to media reports, the teenage footballer, who was in the intensive care unit at RGGGH, developed kidney and heart-related problems and succumbed to multiple organ failures today at 7.15 am.
Following the death, which her family members attributed to medical negligence, a protest was held demanding immediate action on the matter. The protests were held even as Priya’s dead body was carried out from the mortuary after the post-mortem.
Chennai, TN | Family members of a teenage footballer, Priya R who allegedly died after a knee surgery due to medical negligence, protest as they demand immediate action from police in the matter. Protests come as Priya’s body is carried out from the mortuary after a post mortem pic.twitter.com/ibC4mTlMLH
— ANI (@ANI) November 15, 2022
M A Subramanian, the state Health Minister, confirmed that it was a case of medical negligence and stated that the two Periyar Hospital doctors who performed the initial surgery have been suspended and that legal action will be taken against them.
“It is a case of medical negligence. After the surgery, the compression band was tightened excessively affecting the blood circulation,” Health Minister Subramanian told the media.
He further stated that the family will be given a compensation of Rs 10 lakh, and one of her three brothers will get a government job.
Priya was brought to Periyar Nagar government hospital on November 7 for knee arthroscopy. Priya began complaining of severe leg pain the same evening. The physicians suggested a tight compression bandage and painkillers to relieve the pain. The next morning, she was transferred to RGGGH after doctors suspected a blood clot in her leg. Doctors at RGGGH then performed a series of tests and notified Priya’s family that the tissues in her right leg were dead and the only way to save her life was to amputate it.
On November 9, Priya’s leg was amputated. Her suffering, however, did not end there. She had to have a second follow-up surgery at RGGGH on Monday, November 14, because her condition did not improve. Doctors constantly monitored her while she was kept sedated and on a ventilator. However, she passed away the following day after the surgery.
