Soldier has intestine removed after military doctors fail to diagnose him

A soldier had his large intestine removed after numerous army doctors misdiagnosed his illness. The soldier met with various IDF physicians 50 times over the course of six months and lost a third of his weight, but the severity of his condition only surfaced after his mother found him unconscious on the bathroom floor, Israel Radio reported Monday morning.

In what his lawyer said could be a case of malpractice against army doctors, the soldier complained for five months of stomach pains, nausea and blood in his stool.  Not one of the doctors considered sending him for a blood count or other blood tests — even though he had requested them.

During the five month period the soldier barely functioned, but instead of trying to find the source of the problem, his commanding officers sent him to a psychologist to find out why he wasn’t performing his duties properly, the family’s attorney told Israel Radio.

“If it weren’t for his mother, who found him passed out in the bathroom and the toilet covered in blood” no one would have understood how severe the situation was, the attorney said.

The soldier’s body weight dropped from 75 kilograms to 51 kg, and although he complained countless times nobody paid attention to him, the attorney stressed. “Every doctor is bound by [the Hippocratic] oath and none of these doctors upheld it.”

The soldier’s lawyer has already taken action to have his client recognized as an IDF veteran handicapped during his service, “but the Defense Ministry will do all it can to stop that from happening,” the attorney said.

“I have serious suspicions of malpractice,” he added.

When describing the soldier’s current situation, the attorney said doctors at the hospital saved his life, and he had undergone serious surgery to have his intestine and rectum reconstructed. Civilian doctors “refused to let army representatives near him,” having seen the previous treatment he had received, he said.

The IDF spokesperson’s unit said a complaint was filed and the ombudsman for soldiers was investigating the issue.