Indian woman dies after hip replacement surgery in Dubai

PTI, May 13, 2019, 3:07 PM IST

Dubai: An Indian woman chef has died in Dubai due to complications allegedly arising after a hip replacement surgery at a private hospital in Dubai, according to media reports.

Betty Rita Fernandes, 42-year-old mother of two, was admitted for the two-hour left hip replacement surgery at the Al Zahra Hospital on May 9, Gulf News reported. “In reference to the demise of Betty Rita Fernandes on May 9 after her surgery in Al Zahra Hospital Dubai (AZHD), we have made the family transparently aware of all the developments and ongoing reviews,” Mohayem Abdelghany, Chief Executive Officer of the hospital, said in a statement.

“This incident is currently being dealt with multi-level in-depth reviews as per the hospital, Dubai Health Authority (DHA) and Joint Commission International (JCI) guidelines. It was also notified to the relevant authorities and DHA for their independent assessment and review and we will keep the patient’s family updated,” the statement read.

Ms Fernandes had a congenital issue and her hip was slightly displaced when she was born, the report said. According to her family, she decided to go in for a hip replacement surgery under Samih Tarabichi, consultant orthopaedic surgeon at the Al Zahra Hospital, Al Barsha, Dubai.

On May 9, Fernandes, originally from Mumbai, was admitted for the two-hour left hip replacement surgery. She was a chef and ran ‘Betty’s Cake Tales’, a specialty Grocery Store as mentioned on her Facebook page. The Dubai Health Authority (DHA) is looking into a complaint filed by a Fernandes’ husband.

“The case is currently under investigation. The DHA looks into every single case of alleged negligence and/or malpractice stringently. The Health Regulation Sector follows due process in line with international standards to investigate such cases, where a committee of subject matter experts is formed to investigate the case. Deemed action is taken according to the merit of each case,” said Marwan Al Mulla, CEO of Health Regulation Sector.