AN investigation has been launched after a young Bahraini man died of alleged complications of weight loss surgery on Tuesday, writes Zainab Almahdi.
The patient, Hussain Abdulhadi, had undergone a bariatric procedure, known as a sleeve gastrectomy, at a private healthcare facility on May 29.
The National Health Regulatory Authority (NHRA) announced in a statement yesterday that it has begun investigating the circumstances that led to the man’s death.
“The authority’s Medical Complaints and Investigation Section has requested access to the man’s medical files,” NHRA chief executive Dr Mariam Al Jalahma said.
“Facts like what medical procedure was carried out, how the surgery progressed and what remedies were undertaken will be determined ahead of an investigation by a Medical Errors Committee.”
She stated that after reviewing the evidence, the committee will create a report detailing whether or not there is a relationship between the medical procedure and the patient’s death.
“This report will be submitted to the Public Prosecution, and appropriate disciplinary action will be taken if a medical error is found to have occurred,” she added.
Dr Al Jalahma also gave her condolences to Mr Abdulhadi’s family.
A sleeve gastrectomy is a procedure that allows the patient to lose weight by reducing the size of the stomach from 15 to 25 per cent of its original size.
Bariatric surgeries have been known to cause complications and have varying success rates.
According to the late Bahraini man’s relatives, the 29-year-old started experiencing severe abdominal pain two days after the procedure.
They claim that his deteriorating condition was ignored by healthcare professionals at the private facility which led to his death a week later.
He was buried yesterday afternoon in Jeblat Habshi Cemetery. His family will be receiving condolences today (8.30am to 11am), tomorrow (4pm to 6pm) and on Saturday (7.30pm to 10pm). Men will be received at Matam Fatima Alzahra in Jeblat Habshi and women at Matam Jeblat Habshi.
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