August 19, 2003	Tuesday	Jumadi-us-Sani 20, 1424

Please Visit our Sponsor (Ads open in separate window).

SARGODHA, Aug 18: Appendectomy was performed on more than 120 people without any justification in Chokera village, some 25 kilometres from here, just to earn money, said a team of doctors on Monday.

General surgeon Dr Waris Farooka and Sargodha PMA general secretary Dr Sikandar Hayat Warraich lamented that some doctors showed unprofessional and unethical attitude and without diagnosing the real disease performed appendectomy which caused panic in the area.

They suggested legal proceedings against those who brought bad name to the medical profession.

Meanwhile, teams of health department set up two camps in the village along with two ambulances. A committee took samples of food and water for analysis but its findings are still awaited. It is astonishing that most of the affected people are between the age of 20 and 25 years. They complained of pain in the lower part of abdomen. Reports of pain are still coming in and six patients have been admitted to the DHQ Hospital.

The EDO health expressed his inability to tell about the cause of pain and also avoided comments on the surgery conducted by the private medical practitioners.

It may be recalled that four members of MPA Khalid Kalyar’s family, including his three daughters, were operated upon for appendicitis at private hospitals. A woman, Naeema, who was brought to a private hospital here, was operated upon without her consent and the doctor demanded Rs11,000 from her family.