Medical lapse cost my son key football events: CBFC official

Indu Clinic where Aarush Bhakar was treated by the visiting orthopaedic surgeon Dr Rajwadkar on August 18. Pic/Suresh Karkera

The chief executive officer of the Central Board of Films Certification has said that his 16-year-old son lost a crucial year in football and had to undergo a painful surgery due to a doctor's negligence. Ravinder Bhakar has filed a complaint with the Maharashtra Medical Council against Dr Vikram Rajwadkar, who has rejected the allegations.

In August, Bhakar's son Aarush had injured his right toe while playing football and had been taken to the nearby Indu Clinic, Colaba, where he was treated by Dr Rajwadkar. The CEO of CBFC said while a fracture was detected in X-rays, Dr Rajwadkar didn't advise them for a CT scan or a lateral X-ray.

"He was in unbearable pain. The doctor just advised us to do strapping and asked us to visit after 10 days. The pain didn't subside and we visited him after 10 days," said Bhakar. He said Dr Rajwadkar again did the strapping and advised physiotherapy for a few days saying it will reduce the pain. "As advised, we took 20 sessions of physiotherapy from Dr Selvam of Indu Clinic but when the pain didn't subside, we went for a second opinion," said Bhakar.

Dr Vikram Rajwadkar, who first treated Aarush

During the second opinion, senior orthopaedic surgeons advised an immediate surgery after they did a CT scan. "Aarush had a joint dislocation apart from the hairline fracture. It was missed as Dr Rajwadkar was negligent and the correct diagnosis was not done. We were told by the senior doctors that normally in such pain and condition, a CT scan and a lateral X-ray was a must," said Bhakar.

Aarush underwent surgery to fix the joint dislocation. "We were told by the operating surgeons that if he had been diagnosed on time for joint dislocation, Aarush wouldn't have needed the surgery. Since we had crossed the 15-day window period, surgery was the only option," said Bhakar.

While Aarush is recuperating, Bhakar said because of Dr Rajwadkar's "casual" approach, his son missed his important exams apart from being in unbearable pain. "He is on bed rest. For the next three months, he won't be able to put his foot down or cycle. It will take him at least a year to recover completely. He was looking forward to participating in state-level tournaments," said Bhakar. He said while medicine is a noble profession, there are Dr Rajwadkars whose negligence throws a bad light on the profession.

Aarush had stubbed his toe on concrete ground while playing

Dr Indu Bansal of Indu Clinic, said, "Initially, I did set up a meeting to resolve what I thought was miscommunication between the doctor and Bhakar. My premises are used for consultation by doctors. I am not aware of the line of treatment and won't be able to comment," she said

A former head of the orthopaedic department at KEM Hospital said if the patient is complaining about pain repeatedly, it should be followed up with more investigation. "A fracture and joint dislocation together is rare. In this case, if Aarush was complaining of unbearable pain repeatedly, further tests like CT scan should have been done to rule out things or get clarity," said the doctor, who didn't wish to be named.

Vague, baseless statements: Doctor

Rejecting the allegations, Dr Rajwadkar said, "I recollect Aarush Ravinder Bhakar came to me with his mother on August 18 with the complaint of toe injury. Upon careful physical examination and also after looking at his X-ray, which showed a fracture of the toe bone, I strapped on his toe and advised him to take care and good rest by not applying any weight on the right leg till the follow up after 10 days."

He said the patient met him again on August 28. "I carefully examined the patient, removed his strapping and did a repeat strapping on that day, advised him to continue taking rest and a repeat follow up after 10 days. However, the Patient did not meet me on the scheduled follow-up, hence I have no way of knowing whether the patient strictly followed my advice thereafter or what further treatment he received from other professionals, if any," he said. The doctor said the boy's parents informed him after three months that they had sought advice from other orthopaedic surgeons and "made some vague and baseless statements".

"I reiterate that there was no medical negligence whatsoever on my part. I follow a high standard of ethics in my life, both personal and professional and have always served the society to the best of my abilities. Hundreds of patients treated by me stand testimony to the same. There hasn't been a single case of complaint whatsoever against me ever in my career," said Dr Rajwadkar.