Durban - A Dutch doctor alleged to have botched two previous surgeries at the Ngwelezana Hospital in Empangeni is back at the operating table - allegedly resulting in a man losing his leg last week.
Dr Robert Muller, who was banned from performing vascular surgeries in the Netherlands, was authorised by hospital management to perform a surgery despite being moved to the urology department.
Last week, Power Menyuke, 43, had to undergo an emergency operation after he was transferred to the hospital.
An angle grinder cut into his leg while he was at work, and Muller was instructed to operate. Several sources at the hospital confirmed to the Sunday Tribune that Muller failed to repair Menyuka’s artery during the operation, which resulted in excessive bleeding.
They said Menyuka had to be rushed to theatre the following morning for corrective surgery, but it was too late. His leg had to be amputated to save his life.
The sources said they were baffled by how Muller was authorised to perform a surgery despite his history.
Muller was banned in the Netherlands after he was involved in the “avoidable deaths” of two patients at the Bethesda Hospital in the north-eastern town of Hoogeveen.
Menyuka’s wife, Sindisiwe Gumede, said the family would look at ways to find legal recourse.
She said she was shocked when she heard her husband’s leg had to be amputated, because he went in for a minor injury and she was initially told he would be okay.
“They told me he was going to be okay, and the next thing, I heard they had to perform a follow-up surgery to amputate his leg, because the first one wasn't successful,” said Gumede.
She said Menyuka was a builder who relied on his legs to make a living, and she was distraught thinking about their future.
Despite several attempts to get answers from the Health Professions Council of South Africa since October last year, they had failed to respond to the Sunday Tribune’s queries regarding the status of Muller’s medical registration in the country.
In response to the allegations, Muller told the Tribune he could not comment due to departmental regulations.
KZN Department of Health spokesman Sam Mkhwanazi said: “We note the allegations raised by the newspaper. Matters related to the management of a patient by clinicians at the Ngwelezana Hospital will be fully investigated.
“Without prejudice and in keeping with the law, the department would like to state that a medical officer with experience and expertise is allowed to get involved in any clinical operation.”
Meanwhile, the DA visited the Ngwelezana Hospital earlier this week and labelled it a “pit of hell”, with cancer patients being the worst affected.
The DA’s health spokesman, Dr Imran Keeka, said the hospital’s mammogram machine, its fluoroscopy machine and its CT scanner were either broken or not functioning properly.