Kozhikode: In a shocking case of medical negligence in Kerala's Kozhikode, a four-year-old girl was operated upon her tongue instead of her finger for which she was hospitalised.  

According to sources, the child was scheduled to undergo a surgery to get rid of an additional finger in her hand (polydactyly) but she became a victim of medical negligence that too without her parents’ consent.

The doctor who performed the botched surgery has been identified as Bejohn Johnson (Associate professor).

Following the goof up, Johnson has been suspended based on the preliminary report submitted by the director of medical education (DME) to state health minister Veena George.

The health minister has asked DME to conduct a thorough investigation into the matter.

Based on the complaint lodged by the child's parents, police have registered a case against the accused under IPC sections 336 and 337, pertaining to endangering human life or personal safety of others by a rash and negligent act.

The botched surgery was performed at Institute of Maternal and Child Health (IMCH) in Kozhikode.

The shocking matter came to light after the surgery when her relatives noticed cotton rolls placed in her mouth and her additional finger intact.

After this was pointed out, she was again taken to the operation theatre and the extra finger removed.

When sought explanation about the goof up, the surgeon came up with a weird reason by saying that the child had a minor tongue tie (a condition of a tight band of tissue connecting the underside of tongue to floor of the mouth hampering its free movement) and the operation was performed to correct that - without the parents' consent.