Plastic Surgery Singapore

Source: The Straits Times

Nurse grilled on sequence of events
Vague answers to questions on when patient’s trousers were put on him

Published on Oct 19, 2011

Ms Hong, the clinic nurse, was the first person present during Mr Heng’s operation to take the stand. — ST PHOTO: KEVIN LIM

By Selina Lum

WHEN paramedics got to property management firm boss Franklin Heng in the clinic where he had just undergone liposuction, he was unconscious and clad in only a pair of white trousers.

Yesterday, on the second day of the inquest into his death, the issue of exactly when the trousers – which belonged to him – were put on him came up when the clinic nurse who was assisting in the operation took the stand.

At first, Ms Hong Jieying, 23, said she was not sure if she had put the trousers on Mr Heng.

Later, when grilled, she said she remembered she had left the room to get the patient’s clothes, and had put them on him after Dr Jim Wong, who did the operation, returned from his toilet break.

The issue of the trousers arose because Ms Hong had said in her court statement that just as they ‘were about to put on his clothes’, Dr Wong noticed the patient looked pale.

The family’s lawyer, Ms Kuah Boon Theng, grilled Ms Hong to establish the exact sequence of events. Ms Kuah said the nurse’s statement suggested they realised the patient was in a bad state before he was clothed, and that despite this, someone had put the trousers on.

Ms Hong replied that the priority in such a situation was to attend to the patient. She clarified that she put his trousers on him before he was found to be unresponsive.

Ms Hong was two months into her job at Reves Clinic in Orchard Road on Dec 30, 2009 when Mr Heng, 44, came for a liposuction and fat transfer procedure.

The operation was carried out by Dr Wong. Dr Zhu Xiu Chun, also known as Dr Myint
Myint Ki, was also present to monitor Mr Heng’s parameters as propofol was used as a sedative.

However, the operation, which lasted more than three hours, took a fatal turn. Dr Wong noticed the patient looked pale and unresponsive after the doctor returned from the bathroom.

A pulseless Mr Heng was taken to hospital where he was pronounced dead at about 6pm. An autopsy found the cause of death to be multiple punctures of the intestines due to liposuction.

The coroner’s inquiry – a fact-finding exercise rather than a determination of who was to blame – into his death started on Monday.

Ms Hong was the first person who was present during the procedure to take the stand. The court heard that she is what is known as an enrolled nurse and has a National Institute of Technical Education Certificate (Nitec) in nursing from the Institute of Technical Education.

Unlike registered nurses, who have a diploma or a degree, enrolled nurses are not allowed to administer certain drugs.

Often, before giving her answer to questions, she would pause for a long time, closing her eyes, knitting her brows or casting her eyes upwards as she tried to remember what happened.

At one point, when Ms Kuah asked her who was monitoring Mr Heng while she was doing the dressing and Dr Wong was doing the stitching, the nurse paused for an unusually long time. This prompted State Coroner Victor Yeo to say: ‘Try to remember as much as you can and tell us the truth. If you can’t remember, just tell us you can’t remember instead of keeping quiet… Are you afraid of testifying? If you are, let me know.’

Eventually, Ms Hong said she could not remember.

The nurse was also questioned on other aspects of the operation, such as how she arrived at the figure in the case notes of 1,000ml of liquid – including fat, blood and a fluid injected into the body before liposuction – removed from Mr Heng’s body, and how this did not square with the 1,200ml she said in her court statement. She was also asked whether Dr Myint left the room at any time during the surgery. Her reply: She was not sure.
 
 

Other Reads..

Day 1: Inquest hears of liposuction patient’s final hours
剖尸报告： 总裁抽脂 肠多处被刺破致死
助理护士： 手术完成后 病人没睁开眼睛和说话
死者曾以假名 到另家诊所去脂
死者女友： 致电诊所　 却没被告知他已出事
 
Day 2: Nurse grilled on sequence of events
抽取脂肪与血水 护士承认习惯估算
 
Day 3: I did not cause death, says doctor
负责监察病人医生：手术后情况稳定 病人死非我造
 
Day 4: Record kept of sedative dosage, says doc
代表律师：操刀医生存有麻醉药用量记录
 
Day 5: Doc a veteran of ‘over 550′ procedures
黄明汉医生： 病人了解手术风险同意支付1万元
 
Day 6: Doctor quizzed over toilet break
操刀医生承认 肠是在手术时被刺破
 
Day 7: Liposuction death: Doc reveals his training
为总裁抽脂致死医生　上三天抽脂课便独立施手术
 
Day 8: Nothing wrong with way doctor did op: Expert
专家： 惊讶新加坡允许整形医生负责麻醉工作
 
Day 9: Doc who did liposuction ‘unqualified’
专家证人：操刀医生没资格做抽脂手术
 
Day 10: Expert questions autopsy findings
英国籍专家证人：总裁抽脂死因无法确定
 
Day 11: No press coverage
 
Day 12: No press coverage
 
Day 13: Monitoring of patient ‘grossly inadequate’
专家证人：监察病人工作严重不足
 
Day 14: Pathologist stands by autopsy findings
政府专家证人坚称 肠多处遭刺破致死
 
Day 15: Propofol can be best friend or worst enemy, says expert
“商人抽脂死亡案” 证人专家证人：卫生部没有丙泊酚使用指导原则