April 19, 2024

NOVEL CASES IN MEDICAL ETHICS

From Tamil Nadu, in southern India comes news of a 15-year-old whiz kid surgeon. Dhileepan Raj successfully performed a Caesarean section under the watchful eyes of his doctor-parents. The proud father, Dr Murugesan, played a video of his lad at work to shocked colleagues at a medical meeting.

Dr Murugesan’s first reaction seems to have been to defend himself. Why not, he asked, when a 10-year-old can drive a car for setting a record and a 15-year-old can become a doctor in the US. (Never heard that one before.) The local medical council is thinking of deregistering Dr Murugesan. However, Dr Murugesan now claims that he did the operation himself and his son only looked on.