Sawsan Al-Abtah wrote in Asharq Al-Awsat:
The death of the singer’s son, George Wassouf, following health complications following his surgery in Beirut has renewed questions about the reality of the medical sector in Lebanon after the economic crisis, leading to a differentiation in the sector’s capabilities medical sector and patients’ ability to pay the costs of health bills, which are two separate issues, between the exclusion of Those concerned have accepted the hypothesis of “medical error”, according to say doctors and officials. Despite the shock that engulfed Beirut following the news of the death of Wadih Wassouf, son of Syrian singer George Wassouf, in Beirut, the Wassouf family made no mention of a medical error that caused their deceased to die of severe complications, after a sleeve gastrectomy in Beirut.
The former Minister of Health and specialist in gastrointestinal surgery of the American University of Beirut, Dr. Muhammad Jawad Khalifa, confirms that “the sleeve gastrectomy that Wadih Wassouf underwent has its complications and its risks”, explaining to “Al- Sharq Al-Awsat ” that “these complications are different, including bleeding”. Gastric perforation, intestinal obstruction and arterial thrombosis are observed in Lebanon, as well as in America, Germany and all over the world. It’s something we explain to the patient and his family, and anyone can see his lineage in a little internet search. It is often treated.
Khalifa, a member of the Royal College of Surgeons in London, adds that “despite the crisis, Lebanese hospitals still have the best equipment in the region and efficient medical teams, but the biggest problem is not in the hospitals, but in the incapacity of patients to pay for their treatment costs, which is not the case for Wadih and Will.” error, “cannot be satisfied without lawful investigation by the Medical Syndicate and medical committees.”
For the past two years, Lebanon has been suffering from an emigration crisis of doctors and nurses due to the decline in financial returns for workers within the country due to the economic and financial crisis, which has caused a logistical crisis in some hospitals, but this issue was not reflected in the level of medical skills and personnel still present in the country, it was not reflected in the nature of medical equipment, in addition to the cost of treatment and obtaining an ideal medical service, which is no longer possible for many Lebanese who have lost a large part of their purchasing power due to the depreciation of the local currency against the dollar, while the guarantor government agencies (Ministry of Health) can no longer cover treatment costs.
The head of the Private Hospitals Syndicate in Lebanon, Dr. Suleiman Haroun, sees no reason to link the emigration of doctors and nurses from Lebanon due to the crisis, and the death of Wadih Wassouf, stressing to Asharq Al-Awsat that “this is a logistical problem that shouldn’t be given more than its size, and cannot be a direct cause of death.” Patient”.
“This type of operation has many complications, but it rarely results in deaths,” says Haroun, explaining that doctors usually inform the patient of possible complications before performing the operation.
The news of Wadih Wassouf’s death shocked the Lebanese, especially since many of the common operations that are now performed to improve people’s lives, whether to lose weight or in terms of aesthetics, are performed without much concern, but the death incident of the artist’s son, George Wassouf, warned that any operation remains with its complications, whatever happens Lesser, and sometimes its greatest danger, with or without errors. A member of the parliamentary health committee, the representative Fadi Alama, rejects the hypothesis of alleging a medical error and claims that he is not aware of the details of the operation that was performed on Wadih Wassouf, but believes that “medical errors are something that happens everywhere, and in the best countries as well as in the worst; This is why I don’t want to link the death of Wadih George Wassouf to the health situation, which as we know suffers from a shortage of doctors and insurance for expenses, but is still stable despite the crises.
Doctors stress the need not to approach the sensitive issue of medical errors with negligence, negligence and prejudice. Khalifa says, “There is no doctor or medical staff who doesn’t want to provide the best service to his patients,” adding, “It is very difficult to talk about Wadih George Wassouf’s condition without knowing it. Each case is different from the next and each body has its its details and its circumstances. It is the privacy of the patient that usually determines the results of the operation “, explaining that” there are those who suffer from blood clots, or cirrhosis of the liver, and there is no other similar case. Because of this, speaking in general carries risk and carries responsibility, and no one can determine or know what happened without a professional investigation.
Thousands of gastric sleeve operations, and others like them, are performed in Lebanon, and every operation has its own circumstances, just like every patient has his own condition. Khalifa says: “Throwing accusations at random, unscientific speeches. This is held accountable by law in self-respecting countries, when it is proven to be incorrect. Any investigation requires a review of all stages and examinations that the patient has gone through.
