4 doctors jailed after patient dies during botched liposuction

AMMAN — A judicial panel specialised in medical malpractice cases at the Amman Magistrate’s Court has convicted four doctors of manslaughter in violation of the provisions of Article 343 of the Penal Code for causing the death of a patient, and sentenced them to between six months and three years in prison.

The doctors were convicted after the court determined that the doctors performed surgical liposuction on a woman that resulted in a fatal complication.

The medical personnel involved in the incident include a surgeon, who was sentenced to three years in prison, another surgeon and an anaesthesiologist, who were both sentenced to one year in prison each, and another anaesthesiologist, who was sentenced to six months in prison.

 The decision is subject to appeal before a higher court, according to the Jordan News Agency, Petra.

According to court documents, the woman was admitted to the hospital to undergo a scar revision surgery and surgical liposuction. The woman underwent additional procedures that were not included in the description of the procedures under which she was admitted, and were not performed by a plastic surgeon, Petra reported.

Court findings revealed that the surgeon spent more than three hours performing the liposuction and other major surgeries in a regular operating room that lacked an intensive-care unit, despite the necessity of such a unit for the surgeries performed.

One of the doctors present in the operating room was performing surgery on other patients at the same time, the verdict said. 

The doctors performing the surgery on the women continued the operation despite a serious drop in the patient's vital signs and without ensuring that a sufficient quantity of blood reserves and other necessary materials were present, the court maintained. 

Ultimately, the attending surgeons and other medical personnel did not respond in a timely manner to prevent the death of the patient, according to the court.

According to witnesses, a total of JD10,000 had been paid to the chief surgeon. Witnesses also said that the chief surgeon removed seven litres of fat during the operation, while the recommended quantity of fat removal ranges from three to four litres per operation.

The patient was in surgery for a period of 12 hours, despite the fact that such procedures typically need 30 minutes, according to the court documents. Witnesses reported that the chief surgeon was present in the operation room for no more than an hour.