A family in Bunyangabu District is demanding answers from Fort Portal Regional Referral Hospital after doctors allegedly removed the uterus of their 17-year-old daughter during treatment for complications following a caesarean section. The family says it was not adequately informed about the procedure and has struggled to obtain the teenager’s medical records, leaving them uncertain about what happened and how she can access specialised treatment.
The hospital, however, says the uterus had become severely infected and necrotic, meaning the tissue had died, and that doctors removed it in a life-saving operation. The girl, whom Uganda Radio Network (URN) will call Aisha to protect her identity, was a 16-year-old Senior Two student when she went missing from her home in Kabaale Village, Kibito Sub-county, on August 20 last year.
Her father, Majid Mugume, said the family searched for her, made radio announcements and reported her disappearance to police, but could not trace her. Mugume said he was shocked on July 8 when a man identified as Godfrey Byamukama contacted him and said he had been staying with Aisha, had impregnated her, and that she had delivered a baby at Fort Portal Regional Referral Hospital but was in critical condition.
Aisha told URN that she first went to the hospital on May 18 to deliver her baby. After spending a night at the hospital and undergoing several examinations, she said medical workers informed her that she could not deliver normally and scheduled her for a caesarean section the following day.
She said she was discharged two days later, with medical workers citing lack of bed space. However, after returning home, Aisha said she developed severe abdominal pain and, about a week later, her caesarean wound began discharging pus. Her caretakers returned her to Fort Portal Regional Referral Hospital, where she said doctors conducted a scan and told her that her uterus was filled with pus.
She was taken back to theatre on May 25, where she said doctors operated on her and cleaned the infected area. Aisha said she remained at the hospital for about one month and one week. A day before she was due for discharge, she said the caesarean wound was stitched again, but the stitches were so tight that she could not stand upright.
She said attempts to stand caused the stitches to tear into her skin, creating another wound. Aisha said she returned to the hospital, where the stitches were removed, and remained there for about two more weeks receiving treatment. She continues to experience persistent abdominal pain. She said subsequent scans have failed to establish the cause of the pain, leaving her family struggling to find appropriate treatment.
Mugume said it was after the operation that he received a phone call from Byamukama informing him about his daughter’s condition. When he went to the hospital to inquire about her condition and medical records, Mugume said staff declined to provide him with information.
He said nurses referred him to Dr Archbald Newton Bahiizi Sebahire, the Senior Executive Consultant at Fort Portal Regional Referral Hospital. Mugume said Dr Bahiizi declined to discuss Aisha’s medical history, citing medical confidentiality.
Through his lawyers, Ahabwe James and Co. Advocates, Mugume wrote to the hospital on July 14 demanding access to his daughter’s medical records. He said a private ultrasound scan conducted on July 24 at Modern Diagnostic and Orthopedic Centre in Kibiito Town Council indicated that the uterus and both ovaries were not visualised.
The findings raised further questions for the family about what happened to Aisha during her treatment at the referral hospital. Dr Bahiizi confirmed that the hospital treated Aisha but said the information provided by her boyfriend when she was first brought to the facility indicated that she was 18 years old, married, and using a different name from the one provided by her parents.
He said Aisha later returned to the hospital with serious complications, and medical investigations established that her uterus had become necrotic and severely infected. “To save her life, the team decided to remove the uterus. It was done in good faith to save the life of the mother because she would have died,” Bahiizi said.
He described the operation as a life-saving procedure, saying the medical team acted to prevent the infection from becoming fatal.
Mugume, however, remains dissatisfied with the explanation and says the family needs the complete medical records to establish what happened and determine the appropriate treatment for his daughter. He said the lack of medical records has also made it difficult for Aisha to access specialised care because health facilities require her previous medical history.
The father is appealing to the government to intervene and help his daughter obtain specialised treatment and access her medical records. He also wants his daughter compensated if investigations establish that medical negligence occurred, saying the removal of her uterus could prevent her from having children in the future.
Despite the ordeal, Aisha said she hopes to return to school and raise her baby girl. Mugume said Byamukama was arrested and is currently on remand at Katojo Government Prison in Fort Portal City on charges of defilement and aggravated human trafficking-URN. Give us feedback on this story through our email: kamwokyatimes@gmail.com
