Much has been said and speculated about the missing kidney of 55-year-old Rowshan Ara, who is a patient at the urology department of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University (BSMMU) Hospital.
She had undergone surgery at BSMMU to remove her left kidney, but tests later revealed that her right kidney was missing as well.
Rowshan has been surviving without both her kidneys since and is solely dependent on dialysis.
Her relatives were livid at the carelessness and demanded an explanation for the heart-breaking incident.
“My mother was undergoing treatment here at BSMMU where she had her surgery,” her son Rafiq Shikder told Bangla Tribune.
“Her condition deteriorated right after the surgery and the doctors advised her to be taken to the ICU,” he added.
Rafiq said that they took his mother to Insaf Hospital due to unavailability of beds at the BSMMU ICU. The doctor at the hospital sent Rowshan to the capital’s Labaid to run test where it was revealed that both her kidneys are missing.
“The doctor at Insaf Hospital refused to treat my mother after seeing the reports and we had to bring her back to BSMMU,” he said.
“This kind of incident is very unusual but it happens sometimes that a patient’s kidney is not functional but it doesn’t show in the CT scan,” BSMMU Urology professor Dr Habibur Rahman Dulal told Bangla Tribune.
“The problem was that her pre-operative CT scans did not show that her kidneys were joined,” he added.
The physician said that since she was bleeding profusely and pus had accumulated in her abdomen, it was not possible for the surgeons to understand her condition.
Reiterating that there was no foul play, he said the doctors and hospital had nothing to gain from the kidney. “We were just as surprised as her relatives at the incident.”
“A seven member committee headed by Kidney Foundation Chairman Prof Harun Ur Rashid had been formed to investigate the matter,” he said.
Dulal said that they are almost at the end of their investigation and the report will be handed over to BSMMU’s Vice Chancellor. “He will reveal the details to the media. There is nothing to hide. We want everyone to know what we found out.”
“This incident is truly tragic,” the doctor said adding that they had planned for a kidney transplant surgery and her sister had agreed to be the donor but it has not yet been possible.
“Her condition is deteriorating since she suffered a stroke. We will decide on what to do next after meeting with the medical board,” he said.
On the other hand, Rowshan Ara’s sons said that they are solely focusing on their mother’s recovery, adding, “We will take legal steps once she has recovered.”
For the sake of awareness everyone needs to know whether this happens to most patients or whether it is an isolated incident, they said.