A HOSPITAL was given permission by the High Court yesterday to amputate a man’s leg after it said the operation was necessary to save his life.
The man is unconscious and his relatives had refused to give consent for the operation.
The 59-year-old man, who cannot be named by order of the court, has gangrene in his right leg. Doctors attending him have said that unless they operate immediately, he could develop complications and die.
The court heard differing views on what should be done, provided by different members of the man’s family.
His brother and niece had refused to give consent for the amputation while his daughter, who lives in Germany, had said she might be willing to give consent to the proposed surgical procedures, the court heard.
The man presented to the hospital on May 1st and was treated with a number of drugs in an attempt to control his situation before doctors said he needed surgery. They decided he required femoral-popliteal bypass surgery, which is carried out to bypass blocked femoral arteries in the leg.
Bernadette Kirby, who made the emergency application to the High Court yesterday on a one-side-only represented basis, said the patient had given consent to have the bypass surgery carried out.
However, his condition deteriorated and he was brought to the intensive care unit where he remains in an unconscious state, counsel said.
Although he had given permission for the bypass surgery, this was no longer an option given his current status. Meanwhile, his condition continued to deteriorate with the gangrene extending up to his calf, counsel said.
All alternatives had been considered by the doctors who were now of the opinion his leg should be amputated above the knee, she said.
If they were to wait until he regained consciousness, it would be too late, Ms Kirby added.
A consultant from the hospital, which also cannot be named, told the court they hoped, if the gangrene remained dry, they could save as much of the leg as possible. This would likely mean the surgery would leave him with a stump at his knee.
However, the man is ill from pneumonia and from the condition of his leg, the consultant said. And it also remained a possibility that the gangrene could become wet and develop a flesh-eating bacteria called necrotising fasciitis.
This condition can travel very quickly through the body, the doctor said.
His blood pressure would drop and he would develop kidney and heart failure, he said.
The operation could be carried out this morning, the doctor said.