The Kerala High Court has directed the state police chief to transfer the investigation into alleged medical negligence during a complex cosmetic surgery to a Crime Branch special investigation team, after the patient suffered life-threatening complications and multiple amputations. The court has asked the SIT to complete the probe within six months.
The case concerns a 31-year-old software professional from Muttathara who underwent a procedure at a private daycare hospital in Kazhakootam, Thiruvananthapuram, on February 22, 2025. The procedure was described as “360 Degree Vaser Liposuction with Abdominoplasty combined with Brazilian Butt Lift (BBL) and Hip Dip Correction).”
According to the woman’s petition, she developed abnormally low blood pressure, vomiting, dizziness and abdominal pain within hours of being discharged the following day. When she contacted the hospital, nurses allegedly told her that doctors were unavailable because it was a Sunday and advised her to consume salted rice water and return the next day.
She was taken back to the hospital on February 24, when doctors found that her blood pressure remained abnormally low. She was administered intravenous fluids and given a blood transfusion. As her condition deteriorated, she was shifted to another city hospital that evening, where she suffered a cardiac arrest on arrival.
Subsequent investigations revealed septic shock caused by a Pseudomonas aeruginosa bacterial infection, along with kidney failure, according to the report placed before the court. Doctors managed to save her life, but she developed gangrene that led to the amputation of four fingers of her left hand and five toes of her left foot. She also suffered other serious complications and alleged that the consequences had left her unable to continue her software-sector career.
The petition was filed by the woman seeking the transfer of the case, which had been registered at Thumba police station on her complaint, to a Crime Branch SIT. A bench led by Justice G Girish accepted the request and directed the state police chief to hand over the investigation.
The court also questioned whether the facility was suitable for the procedure. It observed that the hospital was registered only as a daycare centre and was ill-equipped to conduct such a complex surgery. The bench described the decision to undertake the procedure at the facility as an “abhorrent violation of medical protocol”, according to the report.
The SIT has been asked to examine whether a plastic surgeon exercising ordinary prudence would undertake such a procedure at a day surgery centre. Its investigation will also cover the circumstances surrounding the surgery and the alleged lapses in medical care after the patient developed complications.
The six-month investigation will determine the circumstances of the surgery, the suitability of the facility and the alleged medical-care failures. The High Court’s order does not itself establish criminal or professional liability; those issues will be examined during the SIT probe.
