The tragic death of a pregnant woman at the National Maternity Hospital could potentially have been avoided if life-saving treatment hadn’t been delayed for up to 15 minutes, according to new reports.
Malak Kuzbary Thawley (34) was undergoing surgery 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, 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, suffered a rare ‘vascular injury’. According to medical records, she died at 7.57pm.
According to the Irish Independent, a hospital report confirms that if the bleeding, caused accidentally by a sharp instrument early on in the surgery, had been spotted in time, a simple procedure called a laparotomy could have been performed together with a blood transfusion and Ms Thawley could have been saved.
The investigations, led by obstetrician Dr Peter McParland, found that a delay in decision-making, lack of experience due to the rarity of the injury and sub-optimal communication between members of the medical team were key factors in the tragedy.
The 239-page report recommends a review of laporoscopy training at Holles Street.
Mrs Thawley and her husband Alan, who is from the United States, had been living in Ireland for three years. The couple were building a life together in Blackrock.
“My wife, my pregnant wife, my best friend died,” he told RTÉ News. “This perfectly healthy beautiful woman just died. No warning.”
Main Image: Malak Kuzbary Thawley with her husband Alan. Photograph: Facebook
