Doctor accused of causing patient's death by cutting wrong arteries restricted from surgery for 18 months
The Singapore Medical Council said Dr Fong Yan Kit likely had a fundamental misunderstanding or misapprehension of the human anatomy and that this may not have been a one-off error.
Dr Fong Yan Kit, a 54-year-old Singaporean doctor, has been barred from performing most types of surgery for 18 months following his charge with causing the death of a patient in April 2022 during kidney surgery at Raffles Hospital. The Singapore Medical Council (SMC) imposed the restrictions due to concerns that Dr Fong's actions may have resulted from a fundamental misunderstanding or misapprehension of human anatomy, and there is a possibility that this was not a one-off error.
The SMC argues that Dr Fong mistakenly identified and severed the wrong arteries, leading to the patient's organs suffering infarction and ultimately causing her death a few days later. This incident raised concerns about Dr Fong's skill and competence, as he initially maintained his actions were correct even after the coroner's inquiry.
The SMC stated that if Dr Fong were allowed to continue practicing, there is a risk of another patient suffering a fatal outcome, which would undermine public confidence in the medical profession. Dr Fong, who voluntarily stopped performing major abdominal surgery after the incident, has been placed on an indefinite leave of absence from the hospital and is currently engaged in private general practice clinics on an ad-hoc basis.
Written by urgent.news from CNA - Singapore's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
