Death of toddler in Kannur: surgeons’ association picks holes in post-mortem report

The Kerala chapter of the Association of Surgeons of India has highlighted what it calls “grievous lapses” in the post-mortem report of the one-year-and-five-month-old child, who died at Baby Memorial Hospital (BMH), Kannur, recently.The toddler reportedly became unconscious after being administered anaesthesia at BMH, Payyannur, and he died while undergoing treatment at the hospital’s Kannur branch on July 10.He was admitted to the hospital at Payyannur on July 5 following a lip injury.

The family had claimed that the child had lost consciousness soon after being administered anaesthesia. He was subsequently shifted to BMH, Kannur, where he was put on ventilator support.Surgeons’ Association Kerala chapter chairman N.

R. Sajikumar and honorary secretary R.P.

Renjin said in a statement that the reported remark by the forensic surgeon that no major surgery was required for injuries on the lower lip and the chin was wrong and riddled with errors. There could be several reasons for stitching up an injury. It could be to avoid scars or to eliminate the chances of infection and bleeding.

Services of an expert surgeon or plastic surgeon could be required for this. It was the right of patients, irrespective of their age, and the duty of the doctors, to get the injuries stitched up without pain.Dr.

Sajikumar and Dr. Renjin pointed out that it was clear from the clinical photos captured before the surgery that the child’s upper incisor teeth had been broken. This was a grievous injury in medico-legal criteria.

If the tooth of a one-year-and-five-months-old child was found to have been broken and if there were injuries on his lip and chin, general anaesthesia was a must for their complete examination. It had to be checked if there were foreign bodies, such as traces of teeth inside the injury, which could have also been caused by the piercing of the lip. It was not practical to give a sedative injection around the injured parts of the body and then stitch them up.

An anaesthetist should decide what type of anaesthesia should be administered. A forensic surgeon need not express an opinion on this, they said, adding that a multi-disciplinary expert committee could have evaluated the method of treatment. Airing opinion on subjects without expertise was akin to playing to the gallery, the surgeons’ association functionaries said as they demanded that the post-mortem report be examined by a multi-disciplinary expert committee.

Meanwhile, the police have registered a case against the anaesthetist after one of the relatives of the child filed a complaint alleging that negligence in administering anaesthesia had caused the child to suffer brain damage. The hospital authorities have denied the allegation. Published - July 18, 2026 07:17 pm IST Read Comments Copy link Email Facebook Twitter Telegram LinkedIn WhatsApp Reddit READ LATER SEE ALL Remove