DUBAI // A heart surgeon has been suspended and the hospital he works for warned after a patient was left brain damaged after a routine operation.
The family of Mohammed Imran Hussain, 48, are seeking legal guidance in pursuit of compensation for what happened to the father of four after heart bypass surgery in August.
Mr Hussain had been working in Dubai for US firm Dow Chemicals as a business development manager.
He was sending most of what he earned to Canada to fund his two daughters’ education and to pay off a mortgage on his home, where his children live with their mother. He has three daughters ages 22, 21 and 14 and one son aged 13.
Mr Hussain’s brother, Amjad Hussain, a businessman based in Bahrain, has temporarily moved to Dubai to help care for his brother and pursue his legal case for compensation against surgeon Dr Uwe Klima and Mediclinic City Hospital, in Dubai Healthcare City.
“Imran has suffered a permanent brain injury with far-reaching consequences, including the loss of able-bodied life,” he said.
“He has lost meaningful, normal relationships and there has been substantial physical and emotional suffering for his family. He will have a lifetime of care needs with excessive costs to allow him to receive the proper chronic support he needs.
“His family has also permanently suffered from the loss of relationship with Imran, as well as the time and additional resources required to advocate on his behalf in this tragic situation.” Mr Hussain developed severe complications after removal of his epicardial pacer wires, which are used to diagnose heart arrhythmias after surgery.
An fluid around the heart resulted in a life-threatening condition – cardiac tamponade, which results in a high heart rate and low blood pressure. Multiple organ failure followed, and Mr Hussain was resuscitated, but because his brain was starved of oxygen, he suffered devastating damage.
Dr Klima, who was caring for Mr Hussain at the time, has been suspended for three months and the hospital where the operation took place warned in a letter after an investigation by Dubai Healthcare City regulators.
Mr Hussain’s family are calling for tougher action to help prevent similar incidents in future. Care costs are about US$1,000 (Dh3,672) a day, which Mr Hussain will require for the rest of his life, as well as home modifications in Toronto to adapt to his disabilities. The case has been reviewed by an independent heart specialist in America, Dr David Jayakar, who produced a five-page report on his findings to support the family’s case.
Dr Jayakar said one of the last procedures that a patient must undergo prior to discharge after this type of heart surgery is removal of the pacer wires connected to heart monitoring equipment.
“Their removal can sometimes lead to complications that can be deadly,” he said.
“It is the medical and nursing team’s responsibility to take every step to avoid complications. There is no documentation that there was any order for the patient to have additional monitoring by the nurses.
“Had all of the proper steps been taken before and after pacer-wire removal, the patient would never have suffered the cardiopulmonary arrest that led to severe brain damage.
“It is clear that, in this particular case, the confluence of events led to a completely avoidable catastrophe that I hope will prompt an internal review process at Mediclinic City Hospital to avoid it ever happening again.”
Regulators found there was no professional misconduct or negligence but there was clear mismanagement in dealing with and recognising cardiac tamponade.
The Fitness to Practice Panel unanimously decided to suspend Dr Klima for three months as the primary treating cardiac surgeon.
The hospital has been warned for failing to provide a replacement cardiac surgeon to monitor Mr Hussain while Dr Klima was in the operating theatre.
Mediclinic will appeal against the decision.
“Mohammed Imran Hussain remains a patient at Mediclinic City Hospital following complications that unfortunately arose after his heart surgery,” the hospital said.
“Mediclinic City Hospital is currently in the process of lodging an appeal against the findings of the regulatory body based on clarification of existing information relevant to Mr Hussain’s case.
Dr Ramadan AlBlooshi, the chief executive of Dubai Healthcare City Authority – Regulatory, said: “The decision in this particular case was based on evidence from cardiology interventionists and they have given their unbiased clinical opinion.
Their review found that the cardiac surgeon mismanaged the case, as he failed to give clear instructions to monitor the patient after removing the pacing wire and managing the complications in a proper, timely manner.”
There is no time frame in place yet for Mr Hussain to be moved to Toronto.
nwebster@thenational.ae
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Transmission: eight-speed auto
Power: 190bhp
Torque: 300Nm
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Price, base / as tested Dh137,000 / Dh189,950
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Gearbox Eight-speed automatic
Power 280hp @ 6,200rpm
Torque 360Nm @ 2,750rpm
Fuel economy, combined 11.7L / 100km
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Stars: Josh Hutcherson, Morgan Freeman, Greg Germann, Lovie Simone
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Date started: January 2022
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Torque: 200Nm at 4,000rpm
Transmission: 6-speed auto
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Company name: Revibe
Started: 2022
Founders: Hamza Iraqui and Abdessamad Ben Zakour
Based: UAE
Industry: Refurbished electronics
Funds raised so far: $10m
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Company Profile
Company name: Hoopla
Date started: March 2023
Founder: Jacqueline Perrottet
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Number of staff: 10
Investment stage: Pre-seed
Investment required: $500,000
MATCH INFO
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COMPANY PROFILE
Company name: Klipit
Started: 2022
Founders: Venkat Reddy, Mohammed Al Bulooki, Bilal Merchant, Asif Ahmed, Ovais Merchant
Based: Dubai, UAE
Industry: Digital receipts, finance, blockchain
Funding: $4 million
Investors: Privately/self-funded
PREMIER LEAGUE FIXTURES
Saturday (UAE kick-off times)
Watford v Leicester City (3.30pm)
Brighton v Arsenal (6pm)
West Ham v Wolves (8.30pm)
Bournemouth v Crystal Palace (10.45pm)
Sunday
Newcastle United v Sheffield United (5pm)
Aston Villa v Chelsea (7.15pm)
Everton v Liverpool (10pm)
Monday
Manchester City v Burnley (11pm)
On Instagram: @WithHopeUAE
Although social media can be harmful to our mental health, paradoxically, one of the antidotes comes with the many social-media accounts devoted to normalising mental-health struggles. With Hope UAE is one of them.
The group, which has about 3,600 followers, was started three years ago by five Emirati women to address the stigma surrounding the subject. Via Instagram, the group recently began featuring personal accounts by Emiratis. The posts are written under the hashtag #mymindmatters, along with a black-and-white photo of the subject holding the group’s signature red balloon.
“Depression is ugly,” says one of the users, Amani. “It paints everything around me and everything in me.”
Saaed, meanwhile, faces the daunting task of caring for four family members with psychological disorders. “I’ve had no support and no resources here to help me,” he says. “It has been, and still is, a one-man battle against the demons of fractured minds.”
In addition to With Hope UAE’s frank social-media presence, the group holds talks and workshops in Dubai. “Change takes time,” Reem Al Ali, vice chairman and a founding member of With Hope UAE, told The National earlier this year. “It won’t happen overnight, and it will take persistent and passionate people to bring about this change.”
Nick's journey in numbers
Countries so far: 85
Flights: 149
Steps: 3.78 million
Calories: 220,000
Floors climbed: 2,000
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Prostate checks: 5
Blisters: 15
Bumps on the head: 2
Dog bites: 1
THE SPECS
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GOODBYE JULIA
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Usain Bolt's World Championships record
2007 Osaka
200m Silver
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2009 Berlin
100m Gold
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4x100m relay Gold
2011 Daegu
100m Disqualified in final for false start
200m Gold
4x100m relay Gold
2013 Moscow
100m Gold
200m Gold
4x100m relay Gold
2015 Beijing
100m Gold
200m Gold
4x100m relay Gold
Details
Through Her Lens: The stories behind the photography of Eva Sereny
Forewords by Jacqueline Bisset and Charlotte Rampling, ACC Art Books
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5.30pm: Wathba Stallions Cup Handicap (PA) Dh70,000 1,400m, Winner AF Makerah, Sean Kirrane, Ernst Oertel
6pm: Handicap (PA) Dh80,000 1,600m, Winner Maaly Al Reef, Brett Doyle, Abdallah Al Hammadi
6.30pm: Handicap (PA) Dh90,000 1,600m, Winner AF Momtaz, Antonio Fresu, Musabah Al Muhairi
7pm: Handicap (PA) Dh80,000 2,200m, Winner Morjanah Al Reef, Brett Doyle, Abdallah Al Hammadi
7.30pm: Handicap (TB) Dh100,000 2,200m, Winner Mudarrab, Jim Crowley, Erwan Charpy
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Taylor Swift
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RACECARD
6pm+Emaar Dubai Sprint+– Conditions+(TB)+$60,000+(Turf) 1,200m
6.35pm+Graduate Stakes+– Conditions+(TB)+$100,000+(Dirt) 1,600m
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3.35pm: Maiden Dh165,000 (Turf) 1,600m, Winner: Al Mukhtar Star, Adrie de Vries, Fawzi Nass.
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The National in Davos
We are bringing you the inside story from the World Economic Forum's Annual Meeting in Davos, a gathering of hundreds of world leaders, top executives and billionaires.
New process leads to panic among jobseekers
As a UAE-based travel agent who processes tourist visas from the Philippines, Jennifer Pacia Gado is fielding a lot of calls from concerned travellers just now. And they are all asking the same question.
“My clients are mostly Filipinos, and they [all want to know] about good conduct certificates,” says the 34-year-old Filipina, who has lived in the UAE for five years.
Ms Gado contacted the Philippines Embassy to get more information on the certificate so she can share it with her clients. She says many are worried about the process and associated costs – which could be as high as Dh500 to obtain and attest a good conduct certificate from the Philippines for jobseekers already living in the UAE.
“They are worried about this because when they arrive here without the NBI [National Bureau of Investigation] clearance, it is a hassle because it takes time,” she says.
“They need to go first to the embassy to apply for the application of the NBI clearance. After that they have go to the police station [in the UAE] for the fingerprints. And then they will apply for the special power of attorney so that someone can finish the process in the Philippines. So it is a long process and more expensive if you are doing it from here.”