SAHARA REPORTERS
There is a high tendency that a five-day-old boy’s right arm will be amputated after a doctor failed to remove a tourniquet from his hand for more than 18 hours after taking a blood sample.
A tourniquet is a device that is used to apply pressure to a limb or extremity in order to stop the flow of blood. The incident occurred a few hours after the baby was born at the Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital (AKTH), Kano. According to physiotherapists, the affected hand is not functioning and may have to be amputated.
Malam Umaru Shamsu, the boy’s father, told Daily Trust that the tragic incident began after his wife underwent surgery and doctors discovered that the boy had a problem with his breathing, prompting them to admit him to the hospital’s paediatric clinic.
He said, “The doctor took his blood, but he forgot to remove the tourniquet, which prevented blood from circulating in his hand for 18 hours. According to the doctors, the device should not have been left for more than two minutes on the newborn’s hand.
“I left the hospital a few hours after he was born. His mother was also admitted. When I came back the following day, I didn’t see the baby. The nurses refused to tell me what happened. Later, they briefed me and urged us to take heart and pray.”
