An investigation into the death of a young mum-to-be at the National Maternity Hospital has concluded that she died due to a tear in her abdomen during laparoscopic surgery.
Malak Kuzbary Thawley (35) was undergoing the procedure for an ectopic pregnancy (a pregnancy in which the fetus develops outside the womb, typically in a fallopian tube) at Holles Street when she died on May 8, 2016.
Mrs Thawley and her husband Alan, who is from the United States, had been living in Ireland for three years. The pair had been together for a decade and had built a life together in Ireland, making their home in Blackrock, Dublin.
Mrs Thawley, who was seven weeks pregnant, had attended a private clinic for a scan earlier that day. When the ectopic pregnancy was discovered, she was admitted to Holles Street, where she rushed with her husband.
During the emergency surgery the teacher, from Syria, had a ‘vascular injury’. According to medical records, she died at 7.57pm.
At the time, solicitor for the couple Caoimhe Haughey told RTÉ News that Mr and Mrs Thawley asked doctors about using Methotrexate, a drug used to speed up the miscarriage process.
Ms Haughey said the couple were advised that Mrs Thawley would need to be operated on immediately.
Master of Holles Street Dr Rhona Mahony was in the public gallery when the post-mortem results were read out at Dublin Coroner’s Court. Alan Thawley did not attend the inquest but was represented by Ms. Haughey and senior counsel Liam Reidy.
An internal inquiry into the tragedy is currently underway and said to be nearing completion at the hospital. The Thawley family has requested that all information contained in the report be made available to them.
“We have been denied access to that,” Mr Reidy said.
Main Image: Malak Kuzbary Thawley with her husband Alan. Photograph: Facebook
