A six-month-old girl who passed away after a routine surgery to repair a cleft lip died from blood loss in the botched procedure, an autopsy has revealed.
The baby – named as Angelina Bavrina in local media in Barnaul, Siberia, Russia – had undergone what was described as a minor op in a children’s hospital back on 15th May, 2022.
Her mother, 23-year-old Elena, said the child would have likely survived had she been given a transfusion as the girl had lost a lot of blood during the operation.
The angered mum claims medics left her baby to die as her organs failed one by one and instead acted like everything was fine.
Doctors reportedly told Elena there was no reason to worry although she saw the girl coming out of the operating room with a breathing tube.
The baby spent three days in intensive care while medics told the worried family they could not give them any information and would not let them see the girl.
On the third day, the child suffered a cardiac arrest and died.
Initial reports suggested Angelina had died from sepsis but an autopsy has now confirmed she died from blood loss.
Elena, who spent months searching for the best hospital in the country for her daughter’s surgery, said she was horrified when the results confirmed her suspicions.
She told local media: “Even before the forensic examination, there were suspicions of blood loss in the Rospotrebnadzor inspection report for the Novosibirsk region.
“In the end, it was confirmed that the amount of blood lost during the operation was not replenished.
“Oxygen deprivation began in the body, followed by brain swelling, and her organs started failing one by one.
“If they had performed a blood transfusion, my daughter would still be alive.”
The grief-stricken mum told of her daughter’s worrying state following the surgery: “On her face, in several places, the skin hung in tatters, her lips seemed as if they had been torn apart, her hands were in unnatural positions, as if they had been tied down to prevent her from moving.”
There was another violation as well, according to Angelina’s mother.
Elena said: “A drug that is strictly prohibited for children was administered to my daughter along with anaesthesia.
“Nobody warned me about this; no one asked for my permission.
“They also didn’t put her into an artificial coma when it was needed. There were already clear contraindications for it in the blood tests, but the doctors continued to administer sedatives.
“I don’t know why they didn’t see in time from the blood tests that my daughter’s organs were failing…
“My daughter was dying for almost nine hours, but the doctors only took action when it was too late, and her body was no longer responding.”
Investigators have initiated a criminal case against the doctors for causing death by negligence.
Elena added: “No specific doctor has been accused yet; there are no suspects.”
She blamed the doctors for her daughter’s death and said she will seek their punishment.
The investigation is ongoing.