Family blames MD for their son’s death

ANTALYA

The family of Atilla Kavdır, Turkey’s first triple-limb transplant patient, who passed away some 100 days after he underwent the landmark surgery, accused Professor Ömer Özkan of transplanting the additional leg on their son without their consent.

“The leg transplant came up later on. They did not take our signature for this. They ensnared us,” said İbrahim Kavdır, the father of Atilla Kavdır, who received two arms and a leg during the operation led by Özkan at Akdeniz University in the Mediterranean province of Antalya.

The Health Ministry’s Composite Tissue Transplant Scientific Advisory Council concluded only two days ago that Kavdır had died due to complications unrelated to any negligence on behalf of the medical staff led by Özkan, who also performed the country’s first-ever successful face transplant operation on Uğur Acar early this year.

“250 units of blood were injected into this kid, causing his kidneys to burst. ... We did not sign anything about the leg. ... They took my son’s signature in the room,” said İbrahim Kavdır, adding that he had resisted the leg transplantation vigorously.

Meanwhile, Özkan said they could perform another surgery in about a month on the eyelids of the country’s fourth face transplant patient Turan Çolak to allow for normal eye movements. Çolak, 34, who received the face of Tevfik Yılmaz, 19, is otherwise in good condition, Özkan said at a press meeting at Akdeniz University yesterday.