A Florida doctor got reprimanded for not wearing hearing aids because he couldn't hear a patient screaming during a colonoscopy — nightmare fuel for anybody who needs to undergo such a procedure.
As The Independent reports, 84-year-old gastroenterologist Ishwari Prasad was inserting a scope into a patient, who should have been sedated but wasn't. The patient started screaming and yet Prasad "did not immediately stop the procedure" because he wasn't wearing his hearing aids, according to a complaint filed in Florida, as quoted by the newspaper.
In another incident that got him into trouble, Prasad "improperly delegated" to a surgical tech during a colonoscopy, but the assistant lacked a required medical license to perform those assigned tasks which included removing polyps from a patient's colon.
With these two alarming incidents last year, the Florida Board of Medicine placed Prasad under probation this month, barring him temporarily from performing any procedures. He was also fined $7,500, in addition to $6,301 worth of medical board administrative fees. He was also ordered to complete five hours of a Continuing Medical Education course within a year.
While it's a good thing he's been publicly reprimanded, the damage has already been done.
Typically, colonoscopies are done after a doctor gives anesthesia to a patient, who sometimes is sedated. The doctor then inserts a scope into the rectum to check the colon for polyps and other intestinal abnormalities.
Some patients opt out of being sedated due to possible side effects or needing to drive home immediately afterwards, but that was clearly not the case with Prasad 's unfortunate patient who was expecting not to feel a thing.
Regardless, this horror story shouldn't dissuade anybody from undergoing the procedure as colonoscopies have proven invaluable in the detection of colon cancer.
So don't let one incompetent doctor prevent you from seeking medical care.
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