Man left devastated as he loses part of his skull after brain surgery

A 25-year-old man in the south Indian city of Bengaluru says he has been left devastated after doctors allegedly misplaced a piece of his skull following a brain operation.

Manjunath, a wall painter by profession, has in a police complaint, accused Dr Guru Prasad and Dr Rajesh of negligence.

Manjunath's mother, Rukminiyama, said her son was admitted to Vydehi Institute of Medical Sciences and Research Centre in Bengaluru city in February 2017 after he suffered from severe headache. After primary tests, it was found that there was a clot in his brain, which needed to be operated upon immediately.

As the family's financial position was not good, they borrowed money from various sources, and also sold Manjunath's motorbike to pay for the treatment. The surgery went off well and the man got discharged in a few days, The Hindu reported.

Manjunath added that after the surgery, the surgeons told his mother that they had removed a portion of his skull because of swelling in the brain. They reportedly said that once the brain returned to its normal size, they would replace it.

"We approached the hospital three months later and they conducted another operation but did not replace the skull part, saying the swelling still persisted. Recently, we approached the hospital again and they informed us that the part was missing. They even said it had been thrown into a dustbin," Manjunath claimed.

Manjunath told The Hindu: "My condition has gone from bad to worse."

However, the doctors have a different version. According to Dr Guru Prasad, when Manjunath came for the treatment he had total blockage in the right carotid artery, leaving him with no control of the left side of his body.

"He came back after four weeks. He was supposed to undergo mesh cranioplasty (surgical repair of a bone defect) but he demanded that we implant his bone flap. The patient had persistent swelling in the brain. We explained to his family that the portion of skull removed during surgery can't be replaced.

"His bone flap could have been used only within two weeks of removal. We explained about implanting a titanium mesh, but they didn't understand. We have documents to prove this," the doctor added, according to The Times of India.

Police have started an investigation into the matter and have called the doctors for questioning.