[June 18, 2025]
An elderly man in his late seventies from Zhengzhou City, Henan Province, was diagnosed with chronic gastritis before and after admission to the hospital. However, the hospital went on to perform a total gastrectomy under the diagnosis of advanced gastric cancer. Both levels of medical accident appraisals concluded that the doctors’ actions constituted medical malpractice and they were deemed to bear primary responsibility. The family has been seeking accountability, hoping to hold those involved criminally responsible, but the police have issued a notice of non-prosecution.
Reported on June 18 by Xinhuanghe Daily, Zhengzhou University First Affiliated Hospital has taken disciplinary actions against the two doctors involved, suspending their practice for one month and revoking their 2025 evaluation qualifications. The patient’s family believes the doctors are suspected of intentional harm and is preparing to take legal action to protect their rights.
In August 2021, due to abdominal pain lasting about ten days for her 79-year-old father, Ms. Dong from Erqi District, Zhengzhou City, took him to Zhengzhou University’s First Affiliated Hospital for treatment.
According to Huashang News, Ms. Dong stated that initially, the doctor diagnosed it as inflammation and advised them to go home and rest without the need for medication. Shortly after, they were advised to have the elderly man hospitalized. During the admission process, the hospital labeled it as a “gastric space-occupying lesion.” Subsequent examinations upon admission indicated chronic gastritis. However, two doctors in the department diagnosed the man with advanced gastric cancer and recommended immediate surgical removal. Subsequently, after the family purchased surgical accident insurance, they were asked to sign an informed consent form for the operation.
Ms. Dong recounted that the surgery took place on the morning of August 26. Within half an hour of being wheeled into the operating room, the entire stomach was removed, and intraoperative frozen pathology was not conducted. To their shock, postoperative pathological examination results revealed no signs of cancer in the father’s stomach but rather chronic gastritis.
Ms. Dong explained that after her father was discharged, they consulted professionals who believed that the operating doctors mistook inflammation for cancer, constituting a crime of intentional harm. Subsequently, in two medical accident appraisals conducted by the Zhengzhou Medical Association and Henan Medical Association, experts deemed it a second-grade medical accident, with medical personnel bearing the primary responsibility, yet their efforts to seek redress have been in vain.
Mr. Wang, responsible for handling the medical affairs of Ms. Dong’s father at Zhengzhou University First Affiliated Hospital, stated, “During preoperative examinations, it was found that the patient had a severe ulcer over a large area in the stomach. Although the instrument examination suggested gastritis, for professional doctors, there was a high probability of the patient developing cancer within the next two years; it would be too late for surgery by then.”
He further mentioned that the doctor followed the correct treatment method based on their duties and professional experience. He also mentioned that the patient is still alive at present.
Regarding the treatment of Ms. Dong’s father, he acknowledged the hospital doctors’ lack of adequate communication with the patient’s family but emphasized that professional doctors make judgments based on their expertise which should not raise concerns. He suggested that within certain compensation limits, a discussion could be initiated. However, if the compensation exceeds a certain threshold, evidence needs to be provided by the patient, such as through a judicial process to establish causality. Ms. Dong has been eager to hold those involved criminally accountable, which has yet to reach a resolution.
In response to the hospital’s statement, Ms. Dong expressed that as early as August 2024, the police had issued a notice of non-prosecution, citing no evidence of a crime. She stated, “I will not give up; my main goal is to hold them criminally accountable, but we also need to consider seeking civil compensation. We are preparing to sue for our rights in court.”
This incident and the hospital’s response have sparked widespread discussion among netizens. Many netizens believe that the hospital doctors’ actions were motivated by greed at the cost of lives.
“Sohu Netizen”: “Anything that might happen in the next two years can be excised! I admire the doctors here so much! It’s estimated that the performance incentives for treating these two conditions vary, that’s why they committed such a heinous act.”
In response to the hospital’s reply, Ms. Dong said, “In August 2024, the police had issued a notice of non-prosecution, stating there was no criminal evidence. ‘I will not give up. My primary goal is to hold them criminally accountable, but we also need to consider civil compensation. We are preparing to sue for our rights in court.”
“Mob User 328rptrgtj”: “This is a crime! Why didn’t the police open a case?”
“9082”: “Playing with people’s lives, the old man will live out the rest of his days in agony, yet the hospital merely suspends the doctors’ practice for a month and revokes their award? They must be severely punished. For those lacking medical ethics, how can they be allowed to practice medicine and harm others again? Their medical licenses should be permanently revoked and handled by the judicial department.”
“Sohu Netizen Cuy2mrRDVB”: “They just went ahead and removed the old man’s entire stomach, and yet there’s no evidence of a crime? Did the public security agencies take money?”
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