The specialist was unable to correctly interpret the ultrasound results.
Pregnant women go through all the diagnostic circles in nine months: they consult with a variety of doctors, take dozens of tests. Everything in order to identify pathologies of pregnancy and fetus in the early stages and correct them. And if these pathologies are too serious and incompatible with the life of the child, then, no matter how tragic it may sound, the woman will receive a referral for an abortion for medical reasons. This practice is used all over the world. And everywhere there are doctors who don’t take their work too seriously.
In Portugal, for example, there is an ongoing investigation into the quality of medical care that the gynecologist Arthur Carvalho provided to his patients. The reason was the birth of a child with a serious developmental anomaly – the baby was born without a face. Literally, the boy has no eyes, no nose, his skull is partially missing. Such pathologies are clearly visible on ultrasound. But…
Dr. Carvalho has worked in a private clinic for many years. Everything was in order with the license, so the expectant mother completely trusted him. She was screened three times under his supervision.
“Everything is going well, absolutely healthy baby”, – Dr. Carvalho.
For the fourth ultrasound, the woman went to another clinic – she wanted to undergo a 3D scan. And there, experts suspected something was wrong. They said that the baby has something wrong with the face, so it would be better for the expectant mother to consult with the gynecologist who is leading the pregnancy again. The alarmed woman did just that: she took the ultrasound results, rushed to the doctor. But he again assured her that everything was in order.
“It’s just that the baby pressed his face against the wall of the uterus, that’s why such a strange image came out,” the doctor reassured the patient.
That is not why the image was strange. But Rodrigo’s parents – that was the name of the boy – found out about this only after giving birth.
Doctors gave the newborn only a few hours. Children do not live long with such pathologies as his. But two weeks later, Rodrigo was still alive thanks to the life support system.
The boy’s parents filed a complaint against the doctor with the prosecutor’s office. And then it turned out that there were already several such complaints. One of his former patients gave birth to a girl with a disfigured face, deformed legs and severe brain damage. Over the course of several years, the child underwent a series of operations, but by the age of eight the girl can neither walk nor talk. Another mother said that due to congenital abnormalities, her child died a few months after birth. The doctor assured both of them that everything was in order with the children. And each time the court and the prosecutor’s office sided with the doctor – the claims were rejected.
This time, the parents have a hope that the doctor will nevertheless be punished – their case caused a great public outcry. Dr. Carvalho has already been suspended from work, but he may return to practice if the court decides that he is not so guilty.