Yashoda Hospital Under Scrutiny After Hernia Surgery Turns Fatal

Routine Surgery Turns Into Family Nightmare at Yashoda Hospital

It began as a routine medical concern for 35-year-old Ujjawal Chaudhary, a team lead at Amazon residing in Rajnagar Extension, Ghaziabad. A minor hernia prompted Ujjawal and his wife, Isha Choudhary, to seek treatment at Yashoda Hospital in Kaushambi, Uttar Pradesh. What should have been a simple procedure quickly spiraled into a harrowing experience.

“We got to know through a doctor that this is a hernia condition and there is a small surgery for it, which is very normal,” Isha Choudhary recalled. “After this, we decided that as the children’s summer vacation starts, we would plan to get the surgery done. We asked the doctor to suggest a surgeon and give their contact number. The doctor gave us the number of the Manager of Yashoda Hospital Kaushambi. We contacted the Manager. The Manager told us there would be a normal surgery, and whenever we were comfortable, we could come and he would arrange our consultation with the doctor. After that, the process would be carried out. The Manager told us to come on 23rd May, and that he would arrange our meeting with the doctor. My husband went to the Manager.”

On May 26, 2025, the couple arrived at Yashoda Hospital early in the morning, expecting a brief, straightforward procedure. However, the doctors had recommended a robotic surgery instead, promising it would be safer and ensure faster recovery.

“The doctor said that on 26th May they would do the operation. They told us it would be a minor one but would be done through robotic technique,” Isha explained. “They forced us to choose robotic surgery and suggested it would be of great benefit to us and that the recovery will be faster, so we should go for this. My husband tried to get the cost covered under his office insurance, but the company denied it and said only a normal operation could be covered. Only a laparoscopic operation was allowed as per their standard rules. The charge for robotic surgery is almost three times more than laparoscopic surgery, but the doctors still suggested robotic surgery and assured us he would recover faster. So, my husband agreed to robotic surgery as he wanted to rejoin the office quickly, and then we got the robotic surgery claim approved from his company.”

Despite being scheduled for 8 a.m., the surgery was delayed multiple times. “We were in regular touch with the doctor. We completed all the required procedures, but the doctor informed us the surgery was delayed. They told us it would now be done at 9:30 a.m. We went to the pre-OT and waited there. Even when we were told it would be done at 9:30 a.m., my husband was taken to the OT only at 11 a.m. After that, we were waiting outside, hoping the surgery would be completed in an hour. Then, at 11:45, I got a call and was asked to sign an anaesthesia form. I asked them why they were making me sign so late when he was already taken in at 11 a.m. They replied, ‘Ma’am, the process got delayed, so that is why we have come late, but the operation has already started.’”

Hours passed with little communication, leaving the family anxious and restless. Around mid-afternoon, the doctors finally informed Isha of complications.

“Around 3:30 p.m., I got a call that Dr. P.K. Sinha wanted to meet me. I went to meet Dr. Sinha outside the Operation Theatre. He showed me a video on his phone and said, ‘A slight complication happened, but we have corrected it.’ He showed us several videos with cuts and trims and said: ‘There was another doctor with me, Dr. V.S. Pandey. He was also involved in the surgery when we faced complications.’ He told us all this and said, ‘Pray for him, everything will be alright. I’m also praying.’ We asked, ‘When can we meet him?’ He said, ‘When we shift him to the ICU, we will make you meet him.’ When I met him, he wasn’t conscious. We just saw him and came back. In the evening, I visited again. At that time, I met Dr. P.K. Sinha, and by then my husband had regained consciousness. My husband asked me, ‘Why is this tube attached to me?’ He knew this was not a major operation, so he was questioning why a tube was inserted. I explained to him that the doctor told me it was just a normal tube to just ensure that there are no complications.”

Post-Operative Complications Raise Alarm at Yashoda Hospital

Despite surviving the initial robotic surgery, Ujjawal Chaudhary’s ordeal was far from over. His wife, Isha, alleges that a series of alarming post-operative symptoms were repeatedly dismissed by Yashoda Hospital staff as mere “gas.”

“I asked the doctor, ‘Is everything okay? When will you shift him to the room?’ The doctor said, ‘Look, he is not exactly okay, but once he passes urine, we’ll shift him to the room. There are 2 to 4 stitches in his intestine, so it will take some time,’” Isha told The Probe. 

“Before that, the doctor did not tell us anything about stitches in the intestine. It was only at that time we got to know about it. On Tuesday, 27th, the doctor came and met us. Everything seemed normal, he was okay, but he had slight pain. Still, the doctor just said it was a gas problem and left. Then, on Wednesday, 28th, the doctor came again. He had passed a little gas by then. The doctor kept saying again and again, ‘Let us know when gas is passed.’ I informed him about my husband's condition, and the doctor immediately removed the tube from his nose. Then he said that within two hours they would start him on a liquid diet. He gave him two spoons of water to drink in front of us. He said, ‘There is no problem now. It is possible he might be discharged tomorrow,’ and then the doctor left. Throughout that period, my husband was constantly telling us that he was having a very strange kind of pain. I kept telling the staff repeatedly, but they only gave him painkillers. He had a fever in the evening, was very restless, and his skin turned yellow. He wanted to go to the washroom, but when he stood up, he felt dizzy. I kept informing the doctors and even sent a message, but they said, ‘There is no problem, it is only gas. You just pray.’”

Even visitors noticed Ujjawal’s deteriorating condition. “After looking at him, even the visitors said, ‘What have they done to him in a simple hernia operation?’ His body had turned yellowish and he had a fever,” said Ujjawal's brother, Arpit Choudhary to The Probe.

“I messaged the doctor in the evening, but by then he had left the country. He replied that he was out of India on a family trip and had explained the whole process to the nurse. He said there were stitches in the intestine and these were signs of recovery. You be happy and pray to God. I said, ‘When he is recovering, why should I pray to God?’ But he kept saying, ‘Pray to God. Pray to God.’ These were his words,” stated Arpit.

By May 29, Ujjawal’s condition had worsened. The family recalls tense confrontations with Yashoda Hospital staff as they struggled to get clarity on his health. “My brother and everyone reached the hospital and they raised objections. On this, the hospital staff behaved rudely with us, saying, ‘You people are trying to be doctors yourselves,’” Isha alleged. “At night, I called them to come and see that the patient was in pain. He was not able to lie down or sit. The hospital staff replied, ‘We know our work and how it is done. You don’t do anything, we will do it our way.’ In the morning, during the routine checkup, his BP was low, temperature was 101 degrees, and even oxygen level was down. At night, he kept saying, ‘I am having pain while breathing, now I am not able to breathe.’ But the hospital staff didn’t take any action. Only after I forced them, they agreed to an ultrasound. Tests revealed fluid and waste inside, an infection, and a hole in his large intestine. By that time, his condition was severe. He was not able to breathe at all. He was shifted to the ICU, put on a ventilator, and prepped for a second surgery.”

On May 29, Ujjawal underwent emergency open surgery, conducted by Dr. Sanjay Negi. “He went through an open surgery where all the waste was removed from his body. Dr. Sanjay Negi informed us that six litres of waste was removed,” Isha said. “The last movement I witnessed in him was on the evening of 29th when he gained consciousness. I called his name, he looked towards me, and he responded with signs of yes and no. That was the last time I saw him in a conscious state.”

Arpit added, “After the ultrasound, they immediately called Dr. Sanjay Singh Negi. He examined the stomach and said, ‘You must do a CT scan.’ Then the doctors informed us about an emergency second operation. He was put on a ventilator, the operation was done, and unfortunately, multiple organs failed. In four to five days, they declared him dead.”

Family Demands Accountability as Questions Remain Unanswered

How a routine hernia surgery at Yashoda Hospital turned into a life-threatening ordeal continues to baffle Ujjawal Chaudhary’s family. According to the family, the hospital has not been able to answer questions about why early signs of distress were ignored and why post-operative care lacked transparency. 

"On 10th June we protested. Our demand was that a re-enquiry should be done under a retired Supreme Court judge, and a team of 3 to 4 doctors from the Lucknow Medical Council should be formed to conduct the enquiry. We also said we wanted the video of the robotic surgery, video of the first surgery, the second surgery and the videography of the postmortem. But the hospital wrote a reply stating that ‘We don’t do videography of robotic surgery without the consent of the patient.’ But if you enquire in other hospitals, videography of robotic surgery is mandatory. The company who deploys this robot also needs the video, to see the success and failure rates of the surgery,” asserted Arpit.

For Ujjawal’s parents, the loss has been unbearable. His father, Jitender Singh, recalls, “Every 15 days he used to visit the village, and we used to also visit him. Our family life was very good. My son is a victim of medical negligence of doctors at the Yashoda hospital. We want an investigation against the doctor and the hospital. The children should get justice.”

Yashoda Hospital has maintained that Ujjawal faced complications due to pre-existing conditions. They claimed that specialists had tried every possible measure, but the infection and multi-organ failure could not be reversed.

The Probe reached out to Dr. Upasana Arora, Managing Director of Yashoda Super Speciality Hospital. On the phone, Dr. Arora said that the patient had comorbidities and was obese. She added that the doctors who conducted the surgeries were highly trained and did their best to save Ujjawal, but unfortunately, he did not survive.

When we informed Dr. Arora that there were a specific set of questions requiring answers, she assured that she would provide a response within 24 hours. However, after the questions were sent, she fell silent and did not respond. 

The family has approached the Uttar Pradesh Medical Council, demanding accountability from the hospital and the doctors who treated Ujjawal. With critical questions still unanswered, Ujjawal’s family states that they remain steadfast in their fight to hold the hospital accountable and to secure justice for Ujjawal.