The doc and the bone!

Without making any bones about it, Lucknow Times' report 'Bone of Contention' (Wednesday, April 26) has caused Balrampur Hospital authorities to carry out an emergency clean-up operation. In what is being viewed as a knee-jerk reaction to the expose, controversial orthopaedic surgeon Dr GK Saxena has returned the 'unused' G-Bones (artificial bones) which he had asked for while performing a bone-grafting surgery on a 17-year-old slum dweller Ayesha Khanum, last week."Doctor Sahib was very apologetic as he handed over the G-Bones along with dozens of metal screws worth several thousands this morning," said Hasan Zubur. The good samaritan who had got the girl admitted here and had been bearing the cost of her treatment from his own pocket had earlier lodged a formal complaint with the hospital superintendent accusing Dr Saxena of making money on the sly. Zubur had alleged that Dr Saxena made him buy expensive G Bones for Ayesha's surgery but instead extracted bones from Ayesha's waist to fill in the gaps in her right torso. Another patient also had a similar complaint against Dr Saxena. Subsequently, a high-level enquiry was ordered into the case and the hospital's chief medical superintendent Dr Irshad Ali was asked to probe into the charges. However, it was the LT report which set the ball rolling, prompting both Irshad Ali and the hospital superintendent GP Misra to immediately summon Dr Saxena and give him a piece of their mind. "Bahut daat padi, dono ko," admitted Dr Saxena while talking to LT on Wednesday afternoon. Dr Saxena however, insisted that he was innocent and would have returned the unused G-Bones anyways. Why didn't he return the bones immediately and why did he have to extract bones from the girl's body when artificial bones had already been arranged, were questions to which the doctor had no convincing answer. "I am being made a scapegoat. You see, I am new to the city and have no contacts. All this is part of a big conspiracy hatched by my fellow colleagues and some employees who are jealous of me. They want to frame me because they cannot stand my success. I am a world class surgeon and have performed several complicated surgeries," says he. He was earlier posted in Jhansi, Lalitpur and Sultanpur districts. Meanwhile, noted Shia Cleric and senior vice-president, All India Muslim Personal Law Board Maulana Kalbe Sadiq has volunteered to bear the cost of Ayesha's treatment, who has now been shifted to a private nursing home "against medical advice."