On November 14th, 5-month-old infant Xiaoxi from Ningbo, Zhejiang, passed away during a heart septal defect surgery at the Ningbo University Women and Children’s Hospital. Following this tragic event, her mother Deng Rongrong posted a video exposing the surgery doctor’s preoperative misjudgment and continued to seek the truth, sparking widespread attention online. Recently, the autopsy report was released, revealing that Xiaoxi did not need the surgery and significant errors occurred during the procedure.
The autopsy report shared by Deng Rongrong on December 19th detailed findings such as “6.5cm horizontal surgical incision between the 3rd and 4th ribs on the right side that was not sutured,” “5.0cm unsutured surgical incision on the right side of the pericardium,” and “visible coronary sinus, but no abnormalities,” along with the size of the septal defect being 1.0cm x 0.9cm.
According to some parts of the report, forensic pathological examination of Xiaoxi’s heart revealed no abnormalities in the coronary sinus, no local defects, no vertical veins, and no coronary sinus atrial septal defect. It was concluded that Xiaoxi died due to complications arising from a secondary type atrial septal defect repair operation, leading to heart failure and respiratory function failure.
Moreover, parts of the autopsy report revealed that “the central incision of the chest and abdomen skin, diffuse bleeding on the right chest wall, the 6.5cm horizontal surgical incision between the 3rd and 4th ribs on the right side was not sutured,” and “cut open the patch repairing the septal defect, with another part of the pericardial patch seen beneath, left unsutured under the rear edge of the septal defect, one side freely positioned, approximately 1.4cm x 0.5cm in size, with the septal defect size being 1.0cm x 0.9cm.” Family members questioned why the surgical personnel did not suture the child’s wound and left the surgical patch in the child’s heart.
Mr. Xu, Xiaoxi’s father, stated in a video that the autopsy results indicated that the hospital’s surgical records were blatantly falsified. The discrepancies highlighted include the medical condition not aligning with the diagnosis, direct causes of death such as pulmonary vein obstruction, pulmonary edema, damage to the heart conduction system, and excessive bleeding leading to hemorrhagic shock associated with surgical negligence.
Mr. Xu expressed to media outlets that based on the autopsy report, “Our child did not have this illness, so why was surgery indicated?” He mentioned considering releasing Xiaoxi’s complete medical history and autopsy report at a later date, emphasizing their sole demand for the truth.
On December 20th, renowned singer Han Hong posted on Weibo expressing her concern over Xiaoxi’s medical accident. She questioned the necessity of the surgery for a septal defect measuring only 3mm, highlighting the multitude of errors during the operation, including the lack of wound closure and discrepancies in the preoperative diagnosis.
Technology blogger and Weibo influencer “Observer” pointed out ten major mistakes committed by the doctors and the hospital in Xiaoxi’s case. These errors ranged from exaggerating the medical condition to surgical complications, inadequate post-operative care, and falsification of medical records, raising serious concerns about the handling of the entire situation.
Since Xiaoxi’s untimely passing on November 14th after a heart surgery at just 5 months old, her parents have been seeking justice, leading to ongoing scrutiny and widespread attention from the public. The incident has prompted an investigation resulting in the suspension of the involved doctor by the Ningbo Health Commission on November 17th. Additionally, Xiaoxi’s father revealed on November 25th that they had commissioned forensic Professor Liu Liang’s team for an independent autopsy report.