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The family of a pharmaceutical company executive, who died at the age of 44 after a liposuction procedure in 2013, received an award of around $ 5.6 million from the Superior Court yesterday.
Surgeon Edward Foo Chee Boon, who was sued by Madam Mandy Yeong Soek Mun’s family, was ordered to pay damages after the court found that he was negligent in performing the procedure at the Central Clinic TCS.
In a written judgment, Judge Choo Han Teck said, “Dr. Foo, who may well be a competent general surgeon, was not adequately trained to perform liposuction and fat transfer procedures.”
“Unfortunately, Dr. Foo believed himself capable and therefore did not handle this case as a competent surgeon in this field should have.”
The judge also said that Dr. Foo’s delay in calling an ambulance after Madam Yeong collapsed at her clinic was negligent.
Dr Foo initially blamed doctors at the Singapore General Hospital accident and emergency department for failing to resuscitate her, but dropped the case against her mid-trial.
On June 28, 2013, Madam Yeong underwent a procedure at the Central Clinic TCS to remove fat from her abdominal flanks, followed by a fat transfer to smooth out the irregularities in her thighs. It was her third liposuction procedure at the clinic.
EMBOLISM
After a two-hour operation, she developed complications and was taken to SGH, where she died 2.5 hours after a pulmonary fat embolism, in which the blood flow is blocked by fat particles.
In 2016, his family, represented by lead attorney Kuah Boon Theng, sued Dr. Foo.
They alleged that Dr. Foo was negligent in not informing him of the risks in performing the procedure and in his postoperative care. He denied the accusations.
Judge Choo said that Dr. Foo had not properly brought Ms. Yeong’s attention to the risk of fat embolism. But the judge inferred from the evidence that she probably would have moved on anyway.
Turning to the actual procedure, Judge Choo said: “All things considered, Dr. Foo most likely inadvertently punctured a blood vessel while injecting fat into Mandy Yeong’s thigh.”
Regarding post-procedural events, the judge noted that after Ms. Yeong’s oxygen saturation level dropped, “the image that emerges is one of total chaos and confusion.”
Dr. Foo said he spent about 45 minutes trying to diagnose the cause of the fall before the ambulance was called.
Judge Choo said there was no reason why Dr. Foo couldn’t have called an ambulance while simultaneously diagnosing the problem.
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