‘Forced to Undergo Hip Replacement, Healthy Body Parts Removed’: Author Taslima Nasreen’s ‘Ordeal’ at Delhi’s Reputed Pvt Hospital

Exiled Bangladeshi author Taslima Nasreen alleged that she had been a “victim of medical crime” and was forced to “buy a disability” while undergoing treatment for a case of knee pain at a reputed private hospital in New Delhi. Naming the doctor and the private hospital in a series of tweets on Tuesday, the author alleged malpractice and wrong treatment.

According to Nasreen, the doctor in question, Yatinder Kharbanda of Apollo Hospital, misdiagnosed her with a fracture in the hip and forced her to undergo a total hip replacement. She alleged that he did not show her any X-ray or CT scans when he diagnosed the fracture, and proceeded to admit her late on January 13 and operated upon her early on January 14.

“I was at Apollo for knee pain. Dr Yatinder Kharbanda told me I had hip fracture, but didn’t show me X-ray or CT. I was admitted for fixation on Jan 13 late night, but on Jan 14 morning he forced me to do a total hip replacement. Later found no hip fracture and a false discharge summary was made,” Nasreen tweeted.

A physician herself, in a Facebook post Nasreen said it was also a “lapse of judgment” on her part that allowed her to become a victim of medical crime. She also claimed that the doctors at the hospital referred to her as a “Bangladeshi patient” and not as an author or doctor.

“I became a victim of private hospitals. I was named not as a writer or a doctor by the hospital, but as a ‘Bangladeshi patient’… I still can’t believe that big doctors can commit such horrible crimes. And I don’t know what lapse of judgment made me fall prey to something like this,” she said in her Facebook post.

Nasreen called the experience a “nightmare” and alleged that healthy parts of her body were removed in the name of treatment for a disease she did not have. She also said she had pay Rs 7,42,845 to “buy her disability” and the hospital made up a “fake discharge summary” once they found out about their “crime”.

Nasreen said she was fit on January 1 and she could not even walk now because of Dr Kharbanda’s “wrong treatment”. “I was healthy and fit, was running on Jan 1. I cannot walk on Jan 31. Because of Dr Kharbanda’s wrong treatment,” she tweeted.

The author, who has lived outside Bangladesh since 1994 due to threats on her life, alleged that Dr Kharbanda caused panic as she was alone and rushed her into getting the hip replacement. She also said she did not get time to consult with family and friends, or go in for a second opinion.

While Apollo Hospital did not immediately respond to messages about the matter, the official Twitter handle of the private hospital group responded to the author’s tweets offering assistance and an “opportunity to make things right”.

“Hi Taslima, allow us an opportunity to make things right. We request you DM us your contact number and email ID to assist you at the earliest,” tweeted Apollo Hospitals.

The hospital also tweeted that it understood that Nasreen had faced particular difficulties and requested for her contact number and email ID to get the matter “checked right away”.

It is, however, not known whether the author has taken any legal action against the doctor or the hospital.

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