A Chinese doctor sparked outrage online after a video went viral showing the surgeon punching an 82-year-old woman during an eye surgery, causing her to go blind in one eye, according to her son. The doctor was suspended after the video emerged and Chinese authorities have ordered an investigation into the incident that took place in 2o19.
According to a report by BBC, the patient had an intolerance towards local anaesthesia and moved her head and eyeballs multiple times during the surgery. As she spoke a local dialect and did not appear to respond to the doctor's warnings in Mandarin, the surgeon "treated the patient roughly in an emergency situation", said Aier China, which operates a chain of eye hospitals.
The video shows the surgeon punching the woman in the head at least three times during the surgery, which caused bruises on her forehead, according to local authorities. Aier China announced that the surgeon was suspended and the CEO of the hospital in Guigang was also dismissed.
The company also said that the hospital authorities failed to report the incident to headquarters and suspended the surgeon, who was also the hospital dean, over "serious violations of the group's regulations", including unspecified offences.
"During the operation, due to local anaesthesia, the patient had surgical intolerance and reached up to try to touch [her] eyes. The area near the eyes is a sterile surgical area. Once touched, it may cause infection…the doctor wanted to avoid danger,” said Aier China in its statement.
After the surgery, the hospital management apologised to the elderly lady and paid her 500 yuan (Rs 5,800) as compensation for the incident, according to the patient's son. He said that the woman was left blind in her left eye, although it was not clear if that happened due to the incident.
The incident came to public attention after a prominent Chinese doctor named Ai Fen, who was among the doctors who alerted the public to the initial COVID-19 outbreak in Wuhan, shared the CCTV footage on her Weibo account where she has over two million followers.
Dr Ai has been embroiled in legal disputes with Aier China since 2021 when she went for an operation at one of their hospitals. She claimed that she nearly became blind in one eye due to that operation, but Aier China has denied the allegation.
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