A DOCTOR in Portugal has been suspended after a boy was born without his eyes, nose, or part of his skull.
The parents of baby Rodrigo hadn’t known about their son’s severe abnormalities until after his birth because their obstetrician failed to spot them on ultrasound scans.
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Dr Artur Carvalho was suspended for six months over allegations of negligence after a vote by medical council officials earlier this week.
Local media report that Carvalho had more than a dozen other complaints dating back as far as 2007 filed against him with several different authorities.
Baby Rodrigo was born in the coastal city of Setúbal, around 20 miles south of Lisbon, on October 7 to parents Marlene Simão and David Ribeiro.
The couple are reported to have attended the private clinic where Carvalho worked for three ultrasounds over the course of the pregnancy, on each occasion receiving assurances that their baby was healthy.
The defects from which Rodrigo suffers would normally be visible from 12 weeks into a pregnancy.
The first time Marlene heard of a possible problem was in the later stages of her pregnancy when she had a 5D scan, which produce far more detailed pictures than an ultrasound.
When she related the news to Carvalho, he told her that the scans were not accurate.
After Rodrigo’s birth, his parents filed a complaint with the Portugese Prosecutors’ Office, which is now investigating Carvalho.
Doctors originally told Marlene and David that Rodrigo was unlikely to survive more than a few hours.
More than two weeks later, he is still alive, breathing without a respirator and able to feed.
Images on social media show Rodrigo’s parents by his side in hospital.
SIX OTHER OPEN COMPLAINTS
Carvalho has in the past been the subject of four prosecutors’ investigations, including one into a similar case in 2011.
On that occasion, Carvalho failed to spot defects developing in a baby girl, and she was later born with no chin, inverted legs, fused toes, and severe brain injuries.
The case was dismissed after it was concluded that the problems would have been hard to spot with routine tests.
The girls’s mother, Laura Afonso, told Publico newspaper that her child, now eight, has had to undergo multiple surgeries, but remains unable to speak or walk.
It has been reported that at least six medical complaints dating back to 2013 are currently open against Carvalho, not including the one concerning Rodrigo.
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Miguel Guimarães, president of Portugal’s medical association, said he had spoken with Carvalho before the suspension was decided on.
He said the doctor had agreed to stop performing procedures for the duration of the current investigation.
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