'What happened was wrong': Health Minister admits surgical error on tongue instead of finger

Kozhikode: Health Minister Veena George acknowledged in the Legislative Assembly that a four-year-old girl underwent surgery on her tongue instead of her hand, at the Medical College Maternal and Child Protection Center, was a mistake. "A tongue-tie surgery was performed on the tongue instead of removing the sixth finger on the baby's hand. That was wrong," stated Veena George, adding that action was taken against the doctor responsible before the end of the day.

An investigation report had earlier identified the doctor’s failure during the operation. This preliminary report, submitted to the Medical College Superintendent DME, indicated that the surgery was performed due to issues with the tongue. However, it also highlighted that the girl's relatives were not informed about the tongue surgery beforehand, which should have been communicated at least orally.

The incident, which occurred last month, involved the daughter of residents from Madhura Bazar, Cheruvannur, who had sought treatment for an extra finger but ended up with a tongue-tie correction surgery. Following growing protests, the Health Minister demanded an urgent report and suspended Associate Professor Dr. Bijon Johnson.