A hospital chief on Tuesday defended the decision to suspend a veteran heart surgeon over concerns about his operating technique, saying the hospital could not afford to risk the health of any new patients.
Dr Fung Hong, chief executive of Prince of Wales Hospital, said 11 serious complications occurred in patients on whom Professor Yu Cheuk-man operated last year.
The operations were all considered high-risk. Four of the 11 patients eventually died, Fung told local radio.
The 11 cases in a row with technical problems made us really worried
“The 11 cases in a row with technical problems made us really worried,” he said. “We couldn’t afford to see [more such cases],” Fung said.
Fung also said Yu, a former head of cardiology of the hospital, had not fully trained for two types of high-risk operations he performed, but instead approved himself to perform them.
Yu has 23 years of experience and is also assistant dean of Chinese University’s faculty of medicine.