IT professional dies after endoscopy at Labaid Hospital

A 31-year-old IT professional died in Labaid Hospital in the capital’s Dhanmondi on Monday, allegedly due to maltreatment and negligence at the hospital after he was given anesthesia without a prior examination of his test reports.

The deceased Raahib Reza, son of Rezaul Haque, was an IT consultant and product manager at Star Tech, said his friend Farhan Islam.

He said that Reza went to the hospital for an endoscopy on Thursday.

His family members allege that the endoscopy was conducted despite his existing physical complications, leading to a heart attack and his subsequent death.

However, the doctor involved in the procedure, Prof Mamun Al Mahtab, former chairman of the Hepatology Department and head of the Interventional Hepatology Department at Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University (BSMMU), claimed that he was unaware of the patient‍‍`s pre-existing conditions.

"Reza’s prescription recommended no endoscopy with injected anaesthesia as he was overweight. However, the medical personnel at the hospital injected anaesthesia," his friend Farhan Islam said.

Soon his physical condition deteriorated, but nobody cared about him as there was no monitoring of the patient until the patient was shifted to the ICU of the hospital on Friday.

Doctors declared him dead on Monday morning.

Labaid Group public relations officer Chowdhury Meher E Khuda (Dip) said that Professor Mamun-Al-Mahtab (Shwapnil) conducted the endoscopy when the patient suffered a cardiac arrest.

‘A six-member medical board was formed to ensure better treatment of the patient,’ he said, denying any negligence.

He said that the patient’s attendance did not raise any complaints with the hospital authority.

Quoting the victim’s family members, Farhan said that they would start a legal process to get justice for the incident soon.