A consultant gynaecologist at Ninewells Hospital who caused the decapitation of a baby will be allowed to return to work.
Dr Vaishnavy Laxman, 41, should have given the 30-year-old patient an emergency Caesarean section as the premature infant was in a breech position but instead attempted to carry out the delivery naturally.
Tragedy struck when the doctor urged the patient to push whilst herself applying traction to the baby’s legs.
A medical tribunal has found that the patient’s cervix was too small, being no more than 4cm wide, during the delivery.
Unborn baby decapitated after Ninewells expert failed to ‘sufficiently address risk’ of procedure
However, Dr Laxman has avoided being struck off and will be allowed to return to work immediately, according to STV News.
Tribunal papers said: “The tribunal did not find that Dr Vaishnavy Laxman’s fitness to practise is impaired by reason of misconduct.
“The tribunal wished to record that nothing in this determination should distract from the fact that on March 16, 2014, Dr Vaishnavy Laxman made a significant error of judgement which had serious consequences and a profound impact upon patient A and for which Dr Vaishnavy Laxman bears a heavy responsibility.
“The tribunal found that the breach extraction and consequences of traction was necessitated by Dr Vaishnavy Laxman’s earlier decision to proceed with a vaginal delivery and which is the subject of the tribunal’s findings.
“Accordingly, the tribunal found that Dr Vaishnavy Laxman conduct set in train a course of events which ultimately resulted in the decapitation of baby B and to this extent contributed to the decapitation.
“But for Dr Vaishnavy Laxman’s error of judgement in this regard, the decapitation would not have occurred.”
