Missing twin saga: Go to court if not satisfied – 37 Military Hospital tells couple

The 37 Military Hospital in Ac­cra has handed the summary re­port of a Board of Inquiry to the couple, who claimed one of their twins was allegedly ‘stolen’ at the hospital shortly after de­livery and told them to proceed to court if not satisfied.

The Chief of Staff (COS) at the General Headquarters (GHQ) of the Ghana Armed Forces (GAF) – Major General Nicholas Peter Andoh, on Mon­day, handed the summary report of the incident, to the family of Mr. Daniel Naawu, at the Burma Camp in Accra.

Maj. Gen Andoh insisted he was very convinced about the upshot of the five-month investigation, urging the couple to seek redress in court if they were still not content with the report.

“I have gone through the report thoroughly and I’m convinced nothing untoward happened. However, if you are unsatisfied, you may go to court.”

According to the eight-page report which was jointly signed by Captain (GN) Paul Yegbe and Major Alfred Toppar, Presi­dent and Secretary of the Board of Inquiry respectively – a copy of which is in the custody of the Ghanaian Times, 16 persons were interrogated and their statements taken on oath during the inquiry to establish the facts of the case.

Those interrogated were the lead surgeon Dr. Ali Saine, Dr. Sheryl Adongo (Assistant Surgeon), Dr. Charles Buckman (Head of the Team), Dr. Davies Adedze (Head of Obstetrics and Gynaecology Department), Group Captain Rosalind Asiedu (Senior Resident Radiologist), Dr. Margaret Mpetey (Radio Resident), Major Samuel Adade (Anaesthetist), SNO Roberta Anokye Bempah (Scrub Nurse) and Lieutenant Frederick Kunkpe.

The rest were Sub Lieutenant Nida Asiedu (Midwife), Chief Petty Officer Jennifer Boateng (Maternity Ward Master), Lance Corporal Linda Osei Bonsu (Midwife), Major Naomi Op­pong (Nursing Officer In-charge of Maternity), DDNS Deborah Boateng (Deputy In-charge of Maternity), Miss Audrey Ag­yapong (Client) and Mr. Samuel Kotei Dsane (Client father).

Ms. Agyapong, the report stat­ed, reported for ante-natal care booking at the 37 Military Hospi­tal when she was 26 weeks, having earlier done a scan at a facility in Accra at 20 weeks of pregnancy which reported twin gestation.

It said a repeat scan done at the 37 Military Hospital on July 21, 2022, at 31 weeks also showed twin pregnancy.

“She was booked for a Caesar­ean section because she had two previous Caesarean sections and a medical condition. The surgi­cal team made all preparation to receive the twins in the theatre. However, the surgeon realised it was a singleton and this was communicated to the patient and her family.

“The patient and her family disagreed and petitioned the hospital, alleging that their second twin baby was missing,” the report added.

It said the Board of Inquiry sought opinions of independent experts including a consultant radiologist and obstetrician from the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital – all of whom agreed that there could be a misdiagnosis of multi­ple gestation with the ultrasound scan.

The report stressed that the average weight for a singleton was about 3kg to 3.2kg, whilst the av­erage weight of twins was about 2.5kg to 2.9kg.

“It is, therefore, rare to have a twin weighing more than 3kg unless there are other maternal conditions like diabetic mellitus.”

The baby delivered weighed 3.1kg.

During its findings, the report said the radiologist at the 37 Military Hospital who did the ultra-sound scan made a misdiag­nosis, having been influenced by the patient’s information that she was carrying twins.

“Madam Agyapong and the attending health workers at the 37 Military Hospital assumed that she was carrying a twin gestation, purely influenced by two ultra­sound scan reports until delivery,” it stated, adding that 10 people who were present at the theatre during the delivery had been interviewed, “all testifying that it was a single foetus with a single placenta and single cord.”

It said a single placenta was delivered with a single cord.

“This cannot be the situation if Madam Agyapong was carrying twins. Even for twins who share the same placenta, the cords must be attached to the placenta.”

The report said as part of in­vestigations, the placenta was sent to the Police Forensic Laboratory (PFL) for analysis to establish that it was what was delivered by Ms. Agyapong.

“The PFL took a piece of the placenta tissue and oral tissue from Ms. Agyapong and sent the sample outside the country for the DNA analysis and we are waiting for the results.”

The Board of Inquiry’s re­port concluded that “the matter is an unfortunate situation of misdiagnosis of a singleton pregnancy for twin pregnancy influenced by late (second and third) ultrasound scan reports.”

Meanwhile, the father of the baby, Mr. Naawu, has expressed disappointment at the report, saying they would take a second look at it to know the action to take next.

“We have gone through a lot of trauma since September 8, last year, when my wife was de­livered of a baby instead of two.

“The Chief of Staff has asked us to go to court if we were still not satisfied with the report, and we shall soon take a decision on what to do next,” he told the Ghanaian Times yesterday.

In a painstaking investigative story carried by the Ghanaian Times on Wednesday, January 18, 2023, a couple narrated how they went to the 37 Military Hospital expecting twins only to be hand­ed one baby after delivery and thus suspected foul play.

Ultra-sound checks done 31 weeks into the gestation period at two medical facilities, includ­ing the 37 Military Hospital, showed that one Ms Agyapong was carrying two live foetuses (twins).

A second ultrasonic scan done at the 37 Military Hospital on July 21, 2022, and signed by Drs M.T Mpetey and R.Asiedu, a Resident and Senior Physician respectively, confirmed results of the earlier scan with twin A weighing 269g and B weighing 261g.

“In all, we did four different scans, all showing I was carrying live twins and it is baffling that one could disappear at birth,” Ms. Agyapong told the Ghanaian Times.

Explaining further, she said on September 7, 2022, when her gestation period was 38 weeks, she was admitted at the 37 Military Hospital where her vitals were taken with two foetal heartbeats confirmed as normal.

In a follow-up story by the Ghanaian Times on Wednesday, January 25, last month, the 37 Military Hospital apologised to the couple, insisting that its ultra­sound twin diagnosis was flawed.