Playback ’15] Actually, 30 People Have Died! We interviewed the “problem doctor” of the Gunma University Hospital medical accident!

What did “FRIDAY” report 10, 20, or 30 years ago? In “Playback Friday,” we revisit the topics that were hot at the time. This time, we will introduce the article “Gunma University Hospital ’18 Deaths’ Surgeon Finally Discovered and ‘Confessed'” from the July 31, 2003 issue, which was published 10 years ago.

In November ’14, it was discovered that eight patients who had undergone laparoscopic surgery of the liver by the same doctor had died at Gunma University Hospital. On March 3, 2003, the hospital made a final report stating that there had been negligence in all of the surgeries and admitted to medical mistakes. FRIDAY” found the primary surgeon, Dr. X, who had disappeared since the incident was revealed, and interviewed him directly (The descriptions in parentheses are quotes from past articles. All ages and titles are current at the time).

Experts called the surgery “a low-level surgery as a whole.

Over the past five years, 18 patients have died within four months of surgery (8 from laparoscopic surgery and 10 from open surgery). The problem is that patients who were operated on by Dr. X of the Second Department of Surgery at Gunma University Hospital (Maebashi City), one of the largest base hospitals in the northern Kanto region, have died consecutively. Dr. X had been hiding from the public since the discovery of the deaths in November 2002 and had lost contact with hospital officials.

“The surgeon’s technique was really terrible. The laparoscopic specialist who watched the video of the surgery said, ‘The handling of the forceps was poor, and the overall level was low, from dissection to hemostasis. It was as if he was operating in a pool of blood, damaging unrelated organs. We have been asking to see him for a long time, but he has refused on the basis of ‘various reasons,’ and we cannot feel his sincerity even though he has caused 18 deaths, the worst number ever.

The anger of the bereaved families, who had to lose their relatives due to Dr. X’s “very poor” skills, did not abate. Another problem was the sloppy prior explanation of the surgery.

Doctors and Hospitals Assigning Responsibility to Each Other

All I remember is that he strongly recommended the surgery, saying, “‘It’s a simple operation and you will recover quickly,’ and ‘Now is a good time for you to have the surgery, physically speaking. It was a very simple explanation that took about 10 to 20 minutes. I was also told that I could leave the hospital immediately. …… If you want to make your point, come in front of us and explain it to us with your own mouth” (woman who lost her mother in her 70s)

A man who lost his father in his 80s squeezed out.

Not only did the surgeon refuse to meet with us, but he also sent the family a single word-processed apology letter jointly signed by his then supervisor and the surgeon, and a 13-page rebuttal letter submitted to the university. The apology consisted of only one sentence, ‘We are very sorry that we were unable to save the patient’s life,’ and the overwhelming amount of the apology was devoted to shifting the responsibility to the university and denying it.

In the final report released in March ’15, Gunma University Hospital pointed out Dr. X’s poor surgical skills, his failure to calculate the liver capacity necessary to determine whether the patient could withstand surgery, inadequate entries in the medical records, and insufficient informed consent to the patient and his family.

However, Dr. X sent a rebuttal to this report to the hospital and resigned at the end of the same month. As noted in the comments, the same rebuttal was further sent to the bereaved family and their lawyer on June 17 of the same year. The content of the letter, while acknowledging the deficiencies in the medical record entries, was entirely critical of the hospital and self-protective, saying that the university’s investigation report was wrong and that he believed there was no negligence in all cases, and that he had spent more than an hour explaining the situation to the patients. The feelings of the bereaved families were completely disregarded.

Words” spoken by Dr. X

In July of the same year, “FRIDAY” caught up with Dr. X at his home in Maebashi City, where he had refused to be interviewed by the hospital and had disappeared from his 3,000-square-meter mansion. FRIDAY” caught up with Dr. X at his home in July of the same year, where he was driving a luxury car to pick up and drop off his family.

He told us, “I am now working at another hospital on a part-time basis. I can no longer work as a regular doctor. I’m sorry. My lawyer told me that I am not allowed to answer.

Dr. X repeated this, but when we asked him why he was refuting the hospital, he began to speak in tones.

What part of the hospital’s report did he find unsatisfactory?

He said, “Before the final report in March, I told them (along with my rebuttal), ‘Please make it public.’ However, I don’t know what their intention was, but the university did not make it public. （I don’t know if they covered up (my rebuttal), but what was reported was different.”

–Do you mean that you wanted (the rebuttal) to be made public, including the fact that you were negligent?

Yes. ……. I can’t talk about it because my lawyer stopped me.”

–I think there are only a few cases where laparoscopic surgery results in death.

I can’t talk about it because my lawyer has stopped me.

After saying this, Dr. X walked quickly into his home. The anger of the families who lost their loved ones did not subside as Dr. X and the hospital continued to push the responsibility on each other.

External Investigation Committee Also Points Out Hospital’s Responsibility

In August 2003, an investigation committee with outside members was formed, and its investigation revealed that there were 12 other deaths between 2007 and 2002, when Dr. X was appointed to Gunma University Hospital, bringing the total number of deaths to 30. The total number of deaths is now 30. In its report issued in July ’16, the committee also concluded that the problems with Dr. X were caused by the governance of the hospital.

Until then, the causes of medical accidents were often discussed in terms of the personal qualities of Dr. X. However, the report pointed out a structural problem at Gunma University Hospital.

Gunma University Hospital was unique among university hospitals in Japan in having different departments of surgery in the same hospital. In addition to the Department of Surgery I, which had existed since the days of its predecessor, Maebashi College of Medicine, the Department of Surgery II (Department of Pathological Surgery) was established in 1954 as an offshoot. Since then, the two surgical departments have been in conflict within the same hospital. This problem was pointed out in the March 27, 2003 issue of “FRIDAY,” and in response to an interview, an alumnus of the Gunma University School of Medicine testified as follows.

《”Competition over the number of surgeries and rare cases is an everyday occurrence. Compared to Daiichi, which has a long history, Daini is more like a venture company. Therefore, some of the doctors in the second department said, ‘I’m going to give it a shot and get a big promotion. It seems that laparoscopic surgery, which Gunma University prided itself on being “state-of-the-art,” was performed in such an atmosphere. The hospital director Yoshihisa Nojima, who apologized at the press conference, and other upper management were aware of the rivalry between the first and second groups of patients, but even when some volunteers appealed for improvements, they were simply silenced.

In August 2006, a settlement was reached with the bereaved family association, and the hospital apologized once again for its inadequate system and medical mistakes. The hospital also promised to include measures to prevent recurrence in a “promise clause” with the bereaved family association in the settlement, and Dr. X was given a disciplinary dismissal by the university (since he had voluntarily resigned in March 2003) following the report of the external investigation committee in 2004.

Since then, Gunma University Hospital seems to have been on a steady path toward independent reform. The integration of the first and second surgical departments is one such example, but the most epoch-making step has been the disclosure of medical records to patients. Although medical records can be viewed at ordinary hospitals, in many cases an application is required and access is only granted after a certain period of time has elapsed since the patient’s treatment ended. In the case of Gunma University, however, patients can access their own electronic medical records and view them in real time if they wish. This is something that few hospitals in Japan have done.

However, we must not forget that behind the realization of this advanced system was the existence of this accident, which resulted in the inexcusable loss of life of many patients. A “Monument of Oath” has been erected on the grounds of Gunma University Hospital, and every year during Medical Safety Week in September, concerned parties gather to join hands.