A major hospital in southern Vietnam must pay US$16,500 in compensation and provide complimentary lifetime medical treatment to a patient after it wrongly removed both her kidneys many years ago, according a court ruling on Tuesday morning.

The decision capped a case that lasted seven years.

In end-2011, the Can Tho General Hospital in Can Tho – a large city in Vietnam’s Mekong Delta – examined a woman known as Hua Cam Tu and concluded that a malfunctioning kidney of hers needed surgically removing, according to court records.

The organ suffered from hydronephrosis, a condition in which a kidney swells as urine fails to drain from the kidney to the bladder.

But surgeons cut off both kidneys instead.

The hospital said they had to make this decision in order to stop the bleeding at the organs because Tu’s kidneys fused together in a horse-shoe shape – a very rare renal disorder in the world.

The doctors did not intend to harm Tu, the institution claimed.

Tu then received a kidney transplant at a central Vietnamese hospital and was tended there.

During this time, the Can Tho General Hospital covered her VND482 million ($21,210) treatment fee and paid her home repairs and the tuition of her children.

The infirmary subsequently ceased the assistance, prompting Tu’s family to sue it.

Nguyen Thien Tri sits by his lawyer in a courtroom in Can Tho City, Vietnam, July 3, 2018. Photo: Tuoi Tre

In June 2017, a court required the hospital to pay over VND302 million ($13,300) in recompense and give a monthly amount of VND5.8 million ($255) to Tu until she dies – a ruling which the institution appealed against.

The long litigation with multiple court adjournments ended on Tuesday, when the hospital suggested paying Tu VND375 million ($16,500) in damages, which was approved by the jury panel.

The sum came from the institution’s trade union fund and contributions by staff members and members of the public.

Nguyen Thien Tri, Tu’s husband and proxy, accepted the restitution, saying the hospital has to deliver on its promise and provide better treatment to his wife as she has been very ill.

His family was too tired and wanted the legal case settled as early as possible to have money for Tu’s care, Tri added.

The hospital’s lawyer said doctors who performed the operation had been under pressure related to the renal removal during the past few years and also waited for a definitive decision on the suit.

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