A premature baby was accidentally decapitated inside his mother’s womb due to a botched delivery carried out by an NHS doctor, a medical tribunal has heard.
The tribunal in Manchester was told Dr Vaishnavy Laxman, 41, should have given the 30-year-old patient an emergency Caesarean section because the infant was in breech position.
Instead, it was claimed, she attempted to carry out the delivery naturally at Ninewells Hospital in Dundee in 2014. She allegedly failed to gain consent from the mother for this, the Sunday Herald reported.
The tribunal heard that Dr Laxman, a consultant gynaecologist, urged the mother to push while she pulled the baby’s legs.
The action apparently caused the infant’s head to become detached from the torso, leaving it behind in the mother’s womb.
It was claimed the mother, whose waters had broken early at 25 weeks, was not technically in labour at the time.
Two other doctors carried out a Caesarean section in order to remove the infant’s head. It was reportedly later re-attached so the mother could hold the infant before saying goodbye.
