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Teen dies after
botched abortion at private clinic
December 31, 2011 Story taken from
www.kaieteurnewsonline.com
 An
18-year-old girl is dead after being subjected
to what appears to be a botched abortion
conducted at a doctor’s private clinic on the
East Coast of Demerara. Karen Devi Bahdal, a
mother of two, and of Vigilance, East Coast
Demerara, died in the Georgetown Public
Hospital’s Intensive Care Unit yesterday,
despite undergoing surgery there to repair a
perforated uterus and damaged bowels. The
injuries were reportedly sustained during the
abortion.
Sources have
confirmed that the physician who performed the
abortion on Bahdal holds a prominent post at a
private hospital, besides running his East Coast
clinic.
According to the teen’s husband, Vishal
Surujpaul, Bahdal was four months pregnant and
she was continuously asking to have an abortion,
since she already had two children; a
two-year-old and a four-month-old. According to
him, his reputed wife was also trying to hide
her pregnancy from her immediate relatives.
Surujpaul said he
tried to persuade his reputed wife to use the
money to buy clothes for the baby, rather than
have the abortion. “I didn’t want to give her
money, but I eventually did and left for work,
when I come home in the afternoon (on December
23) I see she vomiting and she told me that she
went and did the abortion, so I ask her why she
did it when I tell her not to.” He said that
after the termination, Bhadal began vomiting
continuously while complaining of abdominal
pains. He then took her to the GPHC on December
24, where she was immediately admitted.
On Boxing Day,
relatives received a call from a doctor from the
GPHC, who requested that Bhadal’s husband and
one of her relatives meet with him at the
hospital.
Hardai Ramroop, an aunt of the teen, said the
doctor told them that Bhadal had to undergo
emergency surgery to remove her womb. “She went
on the surgery on Monday (December 26) and the
doctor told us that her intestine was bore and
her womb was also bore so they mend it.” This
publication understands that since the teen came
out of the theatre on Monday last, she never
regained consciousness and died yesterday at
8:00am.
Yesterday,
Kaieteur News managed to contact the doctor who
performed the abortion. However, the physician
nervously denied performing the termination, and
denied having a clinic in the east Coast
Demerara village where the procedure was done.
According to other sources, following the
abortion, Karen Bhadal was admitted to the GPHC
after complaining of abdominal pains. She was
given an ultrasound. After this, doctors at the
hospital observed that the patient’s abdomen was
still swollen. She also had a fever and was
vomiting. She underwent a second ultrasound and
this time it was observed that there was fluid
in her stomach. Bhadal was then taken to the
hospital’s operating theatre. Medical staff then
observed that both the teen’s uterus and bowel
were perforated, and had her undergo surgery to
repair the damage. But according to sources, by
then, ‘stuff’ from her bowels had already leaked
into her stomach, and peritonitis (the presence
of bacteria in the stomach) had developed.
The teen’s
condition worsened and she was taken to the
Intensive Care Unit and placed on a ventilator.
According to sources, everything was done to
save Bhadal’s life, but to no avail. “They
washed out her belly and put her on antibiotics,
but once the problem started it is difficult to
reverse.”
Bhadal never regained consciousness and
eventually succumbed at around 08:00 hrs
yesterday. An autopsy is likely to be performed
on Wednesday.
Kaieteur News
understands that the physician who performed the
abortion had once worked at the GPHC in the
gynecology department, but is not a specialist
in the field.
A source said that the Ministry of health has a
list of physicians who are approved to terminate
pregnancies.
Abortion doctor
shuts down ‘bottom house’ clinic
January 4, 2012 Story taken from
www.kaieteurnewsonline.com
Cops seek to question him about teen’s death
The doctor who performed the botched abortion on
18-year-old Karen Devi Bahdal has shut down the
clinic at which the termination was
performed.The physician’s clinic is located in
the bottom flat of an East Coast Demerara
residence. However, when Kaieteur News checked
at the house yesterday, a woman in the upper
flat said that the doctor’s clinic was closed
for the week. A sign that the doctor had
reportedly erected at the flat had been removed.
Police sources confirmed that detectives are
attempting to question the physician about the
teen’s death. However, they have been unable to
locate him. Ranks from the Beterverwagting
Police Station have taken statements from the
dead girl’s relatives and a post mortem is
expected to be performed on her remains today.
Bahdal, a mother of two, and of Vigilance, East
Coast Demerara, died in the Georgetown Public
Hospital’s Intensive Care Unit last week Friday,
despite undergoing surgery there to repair a
perforated uterus and damaged bowels. The
injuries were reportedly sustained during a
botched abortion. The teen already had two
children; a two-year-old and a four-month-old.
Bahdal was reportedly four months pregnant when
she had her abortion at the doctor’s clinic on
December 23. She was admitted to the GPHC on
December 24 after she began vomiting
continuously and complaining of abdominal pains.
Bahdal was given an ultrasound upon her
admission to the GPHC, but the effects from the
abortion were not immediately detected. After
this, doctors at the hospital observed that the
patient’s abdomen was still swollen. She also
had a fever and was vomiting.
She underwent a second ultrasound and this time
it was observed that there was fluid in her
stomach. Bahdal was then taken to the hospital’s
operating theatre.
Medical staff then observed that both the teen’s
uterus and bowel were perforated, and had her
undergo surgery to repair the damage. But by
then, fluids from her bowels had already leaked
into her stomach, and peritonitis had
developed.The teen’s condition worsened and she
was taken to the Intensive Care Unit and placed
on a ventilator. According to sources,
everything was done to save Bahdal’s life, but
to no avail. She eventually succumbed.
Teen dies from
perforated uterus – PM report
January 5, 2012 Article by www.kaieteurnews.com
Doctor performed illegal abortion
The physician implicated in the death of
18-year-old Karen Bahdal performed the abortion
on her illegally, since he is not licensed by
the Ministry of Health to do medical
terminations. The Health Ministry has a list of
physicians who are authorized to perform medical
terminations and health officials confirmed
yesterday that the embattled doctor is not among
those listed. In addition, places at which the
terminations are done have to be licensed by the
Health Ministry, but this is not the case with
the Mon Repos, East Coast Demerara location
where the abortion on Bahdal was reportedly
done.
According to the source, many other doctors are
performing terminations without being authorized
to do so, but these incidents only come to the
attention of the Health Ministry when something
goes wrong. Meanwhile, a post mortem performed
yesterday on Bahdal revealed that she died as a
result of a perforated uterus and acute
peritonitis. The post mortem was done at the
Georgetown Public Hospital by Government
Pathologist, Dr. Vivikanand Bridgemohan.
Bahdal’s body has since been handed over to her
relatives for burial which is expected to take
place today.
Meanwhile, the police are still to locate the
doctor who they say is wanted for questioning.
He has since closed up his operation at Mon
Repos and has not reported to Prasad Hospital
for work since Bahdal’s death. Ranks from the
Beterverwagting Police Station have taken
statements from the dead girl’s relatives.
Bahdal, a mother of two, and of Vigilance, East
Coast Demerara, died in the Georgetown Public
Hospital’s Intensive Care Unit last week Friday,
despite undergoing surgery there to repair a
perforated uterus and damaged bowels.
The injuries were reportedly sustained during a
botched abortion. The teen had two children- a
two-year-old and a four-month-old baby. Bahdal
was reportedly four months pregnant when she had
her abortion at the doctor’s clinic on December
23. She was admitted to the GPHC on December 24
after she began vomiting continuously and
complaining of abdominal pains. Bahdal was given
an ultrasound upon her admission to the GPHC,
but the effects from the abortion were not
immediately detected. After this, doctors at the
hospital observed that the patient’s abdomen was
still swollen. She also had a fever and was
vomiting.
She underwent a second ultrasound and this time
it was observed that there was fluid in her
stomach. Bahdal was then taken to the hospital’s
operating theatre. Medical staff then observed
that both the teen’s uterus and bowel were
perforated, and had to perform surgery to repair
the damage. But by then, fluids from her bowels
had already leaked into her stomach, and
peritonitis had developed.
The teen’s condition worsened and she was taken
to the Intensive Care Unit and placed on a
ventilator. According to officials, everything
was done to save Bahdal’s life, but to no avail.
She eventually succumbed.
This publication was told that after Bahdal took
a turn for the worse the family contacted the
doctor asking him to visit her at the GPHC but
he refused. There are reports that the man gave
back the family the money they paid for the
abortion. |
