Four doctors jailed over woman’s death during liposuction surgery in Amman

Four doctors have been jailed by a Jordanian court over a woman’s death during liposuction surgery. (Petra)

• Victim was admitted to hospital for scar revision surgery and liposuction
• Court sentences the four to prison terms ranging from 6 months to three years

AMMAN: Four doctors have been jailed by a Jordanian court over a woman’s death during liposuction surgery.
The Amman Magistrates Court heard that the woman was admitted to hospital to have scar revision surgery and liposuction, but underwent additional procedures in the operation room.
The four doctors faced charges of involuntary manslaughter and were sentenced to prison terms ranging from six months to three years, the Jordan News Agency (Petra) reported on Wednesday.
The lead surgeon was jailed for three years, while a second surgeon and an anaesthesiologist were each jailed for one year. Another anaesthesiologist was given a six-month sentence. The primary court judgment remains subject to appeal.
Based on presented evidence and testimony of the parties involved, the court deemed that the surgeon who operated on the victim was not a plastic surgeon, but spent more than three hours in a routine operating room performing liposuction and other major surgeries that would normally require an intensive-care operating theater.
The judgment said the defendants failed to stop the surgery when the victim’s condition deteriorated, Petra reported.
According to a report presented in court by the Ministry of Health, the attending physicians did not act quickly enough to save her life.
The report said the surgery was performed in a setting that was not equipped for such major surgery.
One of the doctors operating on the victim was also performing surgery on other patients simultaneously, and continued to operate on the victim despite a serious drop in her vital signs.
Public prosecution witnesses testified that the chief surgeon removed seven liters of fat during the operation, when the recommended amount was three to four liters.
In addition, they disclosed that the victim underwent 12 hours of surgery, with the attending physician spending no more than an hour in the operating room at any one time.