Peju Ugboma: Doctor continues testimony on fatal surgery

A medical doctor at Premier hospital, Uchenna Iwuh, on Monday, continued his testimony in the ongoing inquest into the fatal surgery of Peju Ugboma.

The doctor, who is also the head of the obstetrics and gynaecology department at the hospital, had begun his testimony at the last sitting at a magistrate court at Ogba in Lagos.

The deceased, a Lagos-based chef, died days after undergoing fibroid surgery at the hospital in April 2021. She was the founder of a pastry company, I Luv Desserts.

At the last sitting, the doctor had said that the hospital workers were threatened with violence by the deceased’s family.

Cross-examination

“There were some lapses of time in the care that was given to her?” A state lawyer, Oluwaseun Akinde, asked.

“She was supposed to have renal dialysis…it was stated to happen after certain treatment was given.

It was conditional,” the doctor replied.

Referring to the post mortem result, Mr Akinde asked if “It is out of place to have an accumulation of blood in that area (abdominal cavity).”

“To some degree, yes,” he said.

The doctor added that the report also found blood in other areas that were not operated on.

Mr Akinde said although the rate of surviving after the surgery is higher, there are 15 ongoing similar inquests across the state.

Mr Iwuh said: “One person dying costs me more.” He added that he would look into the qualification, training and license of the doctors that performed the surgeries and where it was done.

He also said the doctors that performed the surgery on the deceased were trained and qualified.

“If you look around and find out that the person was trained, you have to look for what else could have gone wrong?” The lawyer asked.

“I had an examination that put me and my wife off balance. Now there is something we are dealing with. There are things that we could not have known and we just need a little challenge and we will decompensate,” he answered.

“It could be a liver disease. And unfortunately, the liver test is not mandatory pre-surgery.”

He added that two liver tests were carried out post-surgery – when she was in the High Dependency Unit (HDU) and the second one was while she was in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU).

Lawyer: Can we agree now that going forward, it should be done (pre-surgery)?

He answered in the affirmative.

Lawyer: Now, we know that it is the liver that caused the issue…what care could have been used?

Doctor: There usually will be certain contributions.

Lawyer: That means we cannot be specific, it means that there are other factors.

Doctor: It just showed that something was wrong.

Lawyer: After the two tests, did the result indicate that no care can be given?

Doctor: So, we have a patient who has had surgery and a blood transfusion. By the next morning, you notice jaundice and you investigate a liver problem, …and impairment in the function of the kidney. The person may survive.

There are multiple factors at play. We were doing everything we could.

Lawyer: All this that you did, did they give you the result that you wanted?

Doctor: They didn’t.

Lawyer: Since what you did failed, what was the need for transfer to Evercare Hospital?

Doctor: She had a kidney… and we needed to take her to a place where we could manage the situation. We wanted to move her there and bring her back.

Lawyer: The reason you transferred her is to handle the identified issues…but unfortunately before she received any of the care, she left us.

Mr Akinde requested the case note and looking through the note, the doctor explained that the “organs are not probably getting as much blood as they should get.”

When the doctor was asked if acute kidney injury caused the bleeding?”

He said it’s not his area of specialisation.

In another cross-examination with Abimbola Akeredolu, the hospital’s lawyer, the doctor clarified that the case note he had just explained was an entry made by the nephrologist.

“There was an allegation that your entry was an afterthought, what’s your reaction?” The lawyer asked.

But the deceased’s family lawyer, Babatunde Ogungbamila, objected to the question.

However, the coroner said the other side should be heard as well.

Responding, the doctor explained that he has been practising medicine for over 30 years. And have sworn an oath, to tell the truth. He added that he performed an abdominal parenthesis on the patient.

“I was not the primary caregiver,” he said.

“You were accused that the abdomen was distended, what’s your reaction?” The lawyer asked.

“As at the time I attended to her, it was not distended,” he said.

“Where do you get your blood?” The lawyer asked.

“We get it from blood banks in Lagos state and it is certified by the Lagos state,” the doctor responded.

The coroner fixed the next hearings for June 6, 20, and July 4.