[August 28, 2009 TIME OF CALABRIA]
The story of a 15 year old who died after surgery.
medical malpractice is not only dies in Calabria. Two years have passed since the beginning of the ordeal the family of Simon Edwards, who died fifteen years of Locri San Camillo Hospital in Rome dopobun surgery. The parents continue to struggle with all their might to get to the truth about the death of their only figlio.La story of Simone yet another case of alleged malpractice, but this time outside the borders calabresi.Tutto began in July 2007. Simon 22 July 2007 and was hospitalized two days after undergoing neurosurgery in the Oneness of cancer of the San Camillo di Roma, directed by Professor Pio Buoncristiani, following the results of an MRI performed on July 19 Siderno for suspected cancer the cerebellum. Upon completion of Dr. Buoncristiani, who acted, informs parents of the perfect success of the intervention, stating that the outcome of histological extemporaneous performed in the operating room, and then confirmed by the one performed in the laboratory, habevidenziato a benign neoplasm. The primary then refers to the parents that Simon has to go back to the operating room should be removed because "a small bruise insignificant ': something that would not have created problems. But after several days of hospitalization in the ICU, during which shows no obvious recovery of its terms, the boy was transferred to the ward neurochirurgica.Le his condition worsened and parents start to suspect a medical error in the first surgery. Doubts later confirmed by a director of the medical department in which Simon was hospitalized and the doctor on duty called visitarlo.La for the Esposito family, no longer having confidence in Buoncristiani, decided to entrust the care of the son of the team leader of the operative unit of neurosurgery, who, in answer to the insistent requests of parents, confirmed: during the operation is would have been a complication, the main cause of the plight of Simone. The manager also reports that the neurosurgeon who performed the first surgery on Simon became aware of the report sent by him to the health department to transport the boy to another facility, had also had a heated argument with a colleague in documents, in fact, had highlighted the complication. The ordeal of the small Simone continues for six months, the coma-ee infections among fevers - a medium becomes severe and 18 January 2008 Simone died in the department of San Camillo. The legal odyssey
Since that January 18 for the Esposito family court began an odyssey that is still ongoing. Parents, after the death of his son, decided to undertake a difficult and long battle legale.Il day of death showed a denuncia.Il primary cancer of the neurosurgery unit of San Camillo, Pio Buoncristiani, is under investigation for manslaughter . The process has proved to be immensely complicated. The prosecutor assigned the task to the experts to make autopsy. But the conclusions of the experts of the PM and their consultants were quite divergenti.Per the first complication occurred during surgery did not cause any harm to justify the plight of Simone's death and then that for them, are attributable to infection status succeeded: excluding, therefore, a responsibility of health. On the contrary, the lawyers for the family, the hematoma was caused during the operation probably for negligence and incompetence, and then the infection status arose should be considered a contributory cause of the prolonged hospitalization of Simon. The prosecutor, examined the evidence gathered and considered that there was medical negligence, has asked the investigating judge filing. But Simon's family objected to the storage, the request received by the investigating magistrate, who gave the consultants and then charge the prosecutor to investigate the findings of their report, asking the question of whether there was contributory cause of the complication occurred during surgery and the death of Simon. But in the complicated judicial process are also some anomalies. In fact, among the consultants of the prosecutor and the expert doctor suspected there would be a conflict of interests: the Buoncristiani consultant working in the same operating unit of one of the experts appointed by the prosecutor. Simon's parents have made this the fault, asking the appointment of additional consultants and to be heard by the public prosecutor. But the requests were not taken in considerazione.La legal battle is still aperta.E the Esposito family awaits the decision that the prosecutor will take the light of new assessments of the experts.
the story of his father
"was at stake the life of my son but thought their quarrels"
"Dad I'll see you when I wake up." These were the words that Angelo Esposito, Simone's father heard his son say that tragic July 24, 2007. From that day on Angelo and his wife have never strayed from Simon, who was admitted in a hospital bed for six months until the day of his death. Angelo thinks the parents of piccola Sara, deceduta giorni fa
nell’ospedale di Locri, rivive quei momenti e vuole a tutti i costi che si faccia «chiarezza» sulla morte del figlio. «Simone aveva alcuni problemi alla vista ma solo dopo la risonanza magnetica abbiamo scoperto che si trattava di una neoplasia di natura assolutamente benigna, come hanno confermato anche gli esami istologici. Così da Locri siamo partiti per Roma, una persona ci ha segnalato il medico che ha poi operato nostro figlio. I medici ci avevano detto che dopo dieci giorni, al massimo, potevamo riportarlo a casa. Ma non è stato così. Uscito dalla sala operatoria, Simone non ha più parlato e non si è mai più alimentato per via naturale». Un calvario insopportabile. «La degenza è stata un alternarsi di interventi chirurgici (circa 14-15).
Quando chiedevamo spiegazioni ai medici che lo avevano operato ci rispondevano: “Ci
vuole del tempo”. Ma qualche sospetto iniziavamo ad averlo. Un giorno un medico ci fece capire che qualcosa durante il primo intervento non era andato bene. Alla fine abbiamo scoperto che un grosso ematoma aveva creato quello stato». Al profondo dolore, nel ripercorrere quei giorni tremendi, si aggiunge la rabbia per non essere stati informati sulle reali condizioni di Simone: «Nessuno ci ha mai detto di questo ematoma, lo abbiamo scoperto noi in modo assolutamente casuale. Inizialmente dicevano che ci voleva del tempo e anche lo stesso primario che lo ha operato diceva“che Dio ce la mandi buona”,sostenendo che tutto era stato provocato da uno stato
infettivo. Ma noi sappiamo che a causare tutto è stato l'ematoma. Da novembre fino al giorno del decesso Simone è entrato in coma grave ». Gli Esposito vogliono sapere che cosa è successo in quella sala operatoria.«Dopo la morte di Simone abbiamo presentato una denuncia. C'è stato un errore medico,altrimenti un ematoma di quel genere non si spiega. Lo stato neurologico è stato compromesso sin dall'inizio. Noi eravamo 24 ore su 24 accanto a lui. La nostra rabbia – continua
Angelo – nasce dall'omertà di chi aveva in cura Simone e non ha mai detto nulla.La cosa grave è che con questo silenzio hanno impedito a me e a mia moglie di prendere delle decisioni at that time. The case shows that our son unfortunately died of poor health care not only in Calabria. We regret having come to Rome. They hid everything. The loss of our only child is added to the legal odyssey. " The thought of Angel then goes to the parents of little Sarah, and all those who have lost children ipropri for alleged malpractice: Reflecting on what is happening these days comes to mind our ordeal. We can understand the plight of these famiglie.Esprimiamo our solidarity. But who has the wrong must be punished. For our case we do not want revenge, but justice. "To mum and dad now live is very difficult to Simon:" In Our house is a blank unbearable. Missing the greatest joy. Nothing can fill that loss. We survive because maybe there is someone there to help us. But we can no longer make sense. Nothing is the same as before. At the end of this story, in the hope that the truth be known, we would like to meet Buoncristiani and know what has happened in the operating room. "Gaps in the health system are a problem not only in Calabria. "In the hospital - there were many shortcomings, says Angelo. Structural deficits, but also weaknesses in the approaches terapeutici.Ci were also in the case of a failure of our son. Between the two departments lacked a true team effort. They could put aside their quarrels: he was at stake the life of a young boy. Which celebrated its fifteen years in hospital. "
MIRELLA MOLINARI
