The surgeon who conducted the operation during which dentist Tariq Al-Juhani died last December and who faces accusations of malpractice gave his account of events to the Shariah Medical Commission on Tuesday. Head of the Commission and General Court Judge Abdulrahman Al-Ojairi said the surgeon gave details of what occurred in the operation theater and how the anesthetic was administered. Al-Ojairi said he expects the next three hearings to reveal the culprits in Al-Juhani's death and whether the facts support claims by the family's lawyer Tariq Aal Ibrahim that nine doctors and technicians should be held responsible for “errors inside the operation theater during surgery including allowing unlicensed persons to participate in the procedure”. Aal Ibrahim also accuses them of “negligence and recklessness and for not having the necessary technical equipment required for the operation”. The commission has summoned the anesthetist and head nurse involved in the operation at the private hospital to give statements at the next hearing, set for April 11, when Aal Ibrahim will also submit a written response to the surgeon's statements made Tuesday. Al-Ojairi told Al-Madina Arabic daily after the hearing that experts consulted were unanimous in that the cause of Al-Juhani's death lay in “changing a respiration and anesthetic tube”. “All those responsible will be punished, whether the anesthetist, the surgeon, or the hospital,” Al-Ojairi said. The Violations Committee at Jeddah's Health Affairs had previously detected four major breaches of regulations at the unnamed private hospital and recommended the largest possible fines. Minister of Health Abdul Aziz Al-Rabeah ordered that the theater where Al-Juhani died be closed down following a report from Makkah Health Affairs.
