Kannada TV actor dies after cosmetic surgery, kin blames hospital | Latest News India - Hindustan Times
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Kannada TV actor dies after cosmetic surgery, kin blames hospital

By, Bengaluru
May 18, 2022 12:58 AM IST

According to a complaint filed by her parents at the Rajajinagar police station, Chethana had reportedly undergone a ‘fat-free’ surgery on May 16, soon after which she experienced some breathing difficulties.

Kannada Television actor Chethana Raj died on Tuesday after complications from a cosmetic surgery she underwent at a private hospital in Bengaluru’s Rajajinagar, with her family alleging negligence on part of the hospital.

Kannada Television actor Chethana Raj died on Tuesday after complications from a cosmetic surgery she underwent at a private hospital in Bengaluru’s Rajajinagar, with her family alleging negligence on part of the hospital. (ANI)
Kannada Television actor Chethana Raj died on Tuesday after complications from a cosmetic surgery she underwent at a private hospital in Bengaluru’s Rajajinagar, with her family alleging negligence on part of the hospital. (ANI)

According to a complaint filed by her parents at the Rajajinagar police station, Chethana had reportedly undergone a ‘fat-free’ surgery on May 16, soon after which she experienced some breathing difficulties. Thereafter, she was immediately shifted to the Kaade Hospital in Manjunath Nagar, but the doctors there declared her brought dead.

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Deputy commissioner of police (north) Vinayak Patil told HT that a case of Unnatural Death Report (UDR), under section 174 of CrPC, has been registered based on the complaint.

“Around 8.30 am, she was admitted to the Dr Shetty’s Hospital. We didn’t know about this. She had gone with some friends for the surgery. We were informed about this only after she was taken to the operation theatre.

“We went to the hospital, where we were told it would take two hours, then they said four hours. She wasn’t discharged even until 5pm,” the actor’s father Varadaraju told reporters outside the Rajajinagar police station.

“It was in the evening; they (Dr Shetty’s Hospital staff) had shifted her to another hospital. We were told that she faced breathing problems. Doctors said her lungs were filled with water. Around 9 pm, we were told she was dead,” he added.

According to the complaint, doctors at the Kaade Hospital said Chethana had suffered a cardiac arrest.

Upon her arrival at the hospital, doctors checked her and found her to be unresponsive and with ‘no pulse’. Soon, they initiated CPR, and after trying for approximately 45 minutes to revive her, the doctors declared that she was brought dead.

The father alleged that the Dr Shetty’s Hospital didn’t have enough facilities to undertake such an operation.

“If his (cosmetic) hospital had the facilities, like an ICU, she would have survived. The wait at the hospital and then shifted her to another hospital resulted in the death,” said Varadaraju.

Dr Sandeep V, the ICU intensivist at the Kaade Hospital, has also filed a report at the Basaveshwar Nagar Police Station, stating that a doctor, Melvin, who is an anaesthetist, barged into their hospital with a patient (Chethana) around 5.30 pm on May 16, “disregarding all the protocols of the hospital and threatening their security”.

The complaint read: “Our doctors were forced to toe the line of Dr Melvin and team with threats, and though they were aware that the patient was brought dead, they were coerced into declaring only at 06:45 p.m., for the reasons best known to them.

“We strongly object to this kind of behaviour by these doctors and if necessary, we may decide to file a report against them. This report is being sent to you to bring to your notice this incident which does not appear normal.”

Dr Shetty’s hospital is yet to respond to the calls made for the hospital’s version of events.

Meanwhile, DCP Patil said that even though the parents of the actress have alleged medical negligence, the police department has to follow the procedure laid to probe such medical negligence cases.

“We have registered a UDR case as of now. We will wait for the post-mortem report. As per the procedure, we have referred this case to a medical expert panel. We will take further action on the negligence report based on the expert report. As of now, the investigation is focussed on collecting information on what transpired at the hospital,” said Patil.

This is not the first instance of people dying in a fat reduction surgery in the city. In December 2013, Srikantadatta Narasimharaja Wadiyar, the scion of the Mysore Royal family, died following a massive heart attack in Bengaluru. Wadiyar, 60, had undergone two liposuction surgeries, against the advice of his family doctor of 35 years.

Over a decade or so, several standalone day-care centres have mushroomed across the country offering to do cosmetic procedures such as liposuction, rhinoplasty, tummy tuck etc. at lower rates.

While these procedures are suited for a day-care setting, say experts, it has to be done in a well-equipped settings.

“Well equipped Daycare setup are internationally acceptable for performing most aesthetic procedures like liposuction as long as high safety standards are maintained and skilled qualified specialists are doing them on medically stable and fit patients,” said Dr Sunil Choudhary, Principal Director & Chief of Plastic Surgery, Max Healthcare, New Delhi.

Like many other regulatory provisions that are lacking in this country, there does not seem to be an accreditation body meant specifically to govern such day-care centres.

There is no body that may have a consolidated figure of the number of day care centres operational in the country.

Dr Shraddha Despande, Consultant Plastic, Reconstructive and Aesthetic Surgeon, Wockhardt Hospital, Mumbai Central said in an email interview that risks of liposuction surgery include bruising and swelling in the local area.

More grave complications include fluid overload, pulmonary embolism and pulmonary Edema.

“Liposuction surgery involves removal of fat from certain stubborn areas of the body which are resistant to diet and exercise. This is performed in any age group between 18 to 65. The patient needs to be assessed properly preoperatively to make sure they are fit to undergo the procedure. The assessment of the risk of anaesthesia needs to be done as well,” said Despande.

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  • ABOUT THE AUTHOR
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    Arun Dev is an Assistant Editor with the Karnataka bureau of Hindustan Times. A journalist for over 10 years, he has written extensively on crime and politics.

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