SINGAPORE: A mother of six has taken an anaesthetist
who attended to her during the Caesarian birth of her last child in
2006 to court for allegedly causing her neck
injuries.
Mdm Joanne Tong Seok May, 40, claims that Dr Gordon
Yau Hok Man had "overstrained and/or injured her neck" while he was
inserting a breathing tube down her airway in the process of
administering general anaesthesia.
As a result, she has been suffering from severe pain
in the neck and back, pins and needles in her hands and feet, and
chronic headaches, claims the former lawyer.
Dr Yau is denying all allegations and said in court documents that
he had not flexed, extended and/or tilted Mdm Tong's head while
performing the procedure.
Mdm Tong, who is now an English tutor, said she now suffers from
post-traumatic stress disorder with a major depressive disorder and
has to take more than 20 pills a day because of the ailments.
Mdm Tong, represented by Ms Melanie Ho, is seeking unspecified
damages. Besides alleging Dr Yau carried out the intubation
improperly, Mdm Tong claims he had fallen "appallingly short of
acceptable standards in his practice of medicine" because he had
allegedly failed to adequately assess her physical condition before
carrying out the procedure.
Dr Yau, who is in private practice at Mount Elizabeth Medical
Centre, is also alleged not to have sought and obtained Mdm Tong's
consent for general anaesthesia, and nor did he explain the nature
and risks of the procedure.
But Dr Yau contended that it was the "usual and standard practice"
for Mdm Tong's gynaecologist, with whom he had been working with
for some years, to advise patients accordingly. He argued further
the tube was successfully inserted in one attempt without any
difficulty.
His lawyer, Mr Lek Siang Pheng, noted Mdm Tong had also signed a
consent form indicating that the nature, risks and alternatives of
anaesthesia had been explained to her.
Mdm Tong's account was that she was unaware the consent form was
for procedures other than the Caesarian section and that she had
not read it before signing.
Among the nine witnesses that Dr Yau will call include a private
investigator, who conducted surveillance on Mdm Tong and found that
she was able to engage in normal activities.
When the hearing began on Thursday, Mr Lek grilled Mdm Tong as to
whether her gynaecologist had already discussed with her about the
anaesthesia procedures, thus making it unnecessary for his client
to repeat the same.
Mdm Tong denied this, saying they only spoke generally about
anaesthesia being necessary for Caesarian births, but did not delve
into the type of anaesthesia.
She added that she felt Dr Yau was the best person to explain and
advise her about the risks because it was his area of expertise but
he had not done so.
The hearing, scheduled for 19 days, continues on
Monday.
-- TODAY