Teen sues over botched op

Circumcision procedure leaves youth with permanent disability

KUALA LUMPUR: A teenager, who suffered permanent disability after a circumcision procedure went awry eight years ago, has filed a suit against two government hospitals and four others for negligence.

The 18-year-old, who filed the lawsuit via his mother, has named a medical assistant, a doctor at Kuala Lipis Hospital, the director of Kuala Lipis Hospital, a doctor at Selayang Hospital, the director of Selayang Hospital and the government as the defendants.

In the lawsuit filed on July 19, it said that on Dec 13, 2010, at about 10am, the first defendant carried out the circumcision surgery, with consent and knowledge of the second defendant, on a 10-year-old boy at a house in Kuala Lipis.

The plaintiff alleged that the medical assistant had failed to adhere to standard procedure and without a duty of care, had cut off his entire glans penis.

He said that as a result of the negligence, the glans was dismembered and he was bleeding profusely.

He further claimed that the medical assistant later restitched the glans and covered it with a white bandage cloth but it did not stop the bleeding.

The plaintiff said his family members were told to bring him to the Kuala Lipis Hospital and upon reaching there, the second defendant informed that his ureter was accidentally cut off.

He also said the second defendant knew the glans had been cut off but did not inform his family.

He added that the second defendant took a long time to make a decision to refer him to the Selayang Hospital.

The plaintiff said he underwent a surgery to reattach the glans after five hours of arriving at Selayang Hospital.

The fourth defendant, he said assured his mother that the glans would likely to grow when he reached 17 but it did not.

The plaintiff said he suffered permanent disability as a result of the malpractice.

Further, he claimed that he could only make friends with young children now and was unable to understand sexuality at all.

The plaintiff is seeking RM108,356 in expenses and costs, general damages, special damages and other relief deem fit by the court.

In his defence, the first defendant has denied that he was negligent, saying that at all material time, he had discharged his responsibilities based on the standard medical practice.

The first defendant also said the suit was filed out of the six years’ time frame.

Yesterday, counsel Mohamad Zainuddin Abu Bakar told reporters after meeting High Court deputy registrar Rumaizah Baharom in chambers that the next case management has been fixed on Dec 7.