In pyjamas, slippers and dressing gowns, several patients who are waiting for urgent operations on Tuesday and Wednesday went to the door of the director of the First Surgical Clinic of the Serbian University Hospital, prof. Dr. Predrag Sabljak for answers - who will operate them and when?
"I have a tumor of an internal organ, on December 20 I came to see Prof. Dr. Vladimir Dugalić and we arranged the operation for January 13th. I chose him to operate on me because of the trust I have in him and because of his biography," one of the patients who found herself in an awkward position told "Vreme" since surgeon Dugalić was dismissed and transferred to another department.
"I didn't know that Prof. Dr. Dugalić was dismissed only three days after the examination I attended. I duly reported to the hospital on January 9, they took pictures of me, made preparations, but I still haven't been operated on because my doctor no longer works here. Everyone is kind here, we as patients do not get involved in disputes within the hospital, but if we have the right to a chosen general practitioner, then we also have the right to choose the surgeon who will operate on us when our life is in danger," says a patient with a tumor whose a name known to the editorial staff.
Irresponsible behavior
For patients who are already in the Department of Liver, Pancreatic and Biliary Surgery, a few who are still waiting for complicated operations came to the director's office with the same questions.
"I came to ask about my mother." I don't even know when I would bring her to the hospital, or if Dugalić will be able to operate on me. I was disturbed by the articles in the media from which I learned that he was removed due to political revenge. This is no longer normal," says the son of a woman who is waiting for an operation for gallbladder cancer.
Patients who share the same concern and were interviewed by "Vreme" journalists say that the director of the Sabljak clinic told them that Vladimir Dugalić would be able to operate on them, but he did not tell them how it would be possible when he no longer works in that department.
Doubts remained whether this meant that surgeon Dugalić could operate on patients who trust him, only in cases where there are no other operations. That sounds quite irresponsible considering that patients should be informed about the appointment in advance and undergo adequate pre-operative preparation, and the team of doctors and nurses for this type of surgery, given that they do not work in emergency conditions, must prepare and plan each step, as well as what to do in case of unplanned situations.
No comment
Several patients who sought the director of the clinic on Wednesday say that prof. Dr. Sabljak said briefly and sharply in the hospital corridor that no one is forbidding Dr. Dugalić to operate, but that he is on vacation.
For Vreme, he refused to comment on Dugalić's claims that he is on vacation until Monday, but that it is manipulation to say that no one is preventing him from working.
"I don't have specific operating days, I don't even have a schedule of rooms where I can work." I have no guarantee that I will be able to work with a proven team of doctors and nurses, whom I have personally trained. "Surgeries are teamwork, every step is important, it is extremely important that I even know who will be the medical workers who will monitor the postoperative course of the patients," Dugalić told Vreme.
He notes that he doesn't want to jeopardize patient safety if he were to work with a team he doesn't know enough about.
Prof. Dr. Dugalić is a specialist in abdominal surgery, employed at the First Surgical Clinic, UKC, and has been practicing general surgery for more than 30 years, with a special interest in liver, pancreatic and biliary tract surgery. He was educated at the world's most prestigious health centers.
His area of scientific and clinical interest is benign and malignant diseases in surgery of the liver, bile ducts and pancreas. In recent years, much attention has been focused on the development of the project of three-dimensional (3D) liver reconstruction, CT simulation and navigation in liver surgery.
He was fired only a day after he publicly came out and supported the student protests.
It seems that the rule of the chosen doctor is no longer valid in Serbia, if he is not at the will of the ruling party.
Jelena Zoric
