JEDDAH: The father of a youth whose eyesight was damaged while undergoing Lasik eye surgery in 2005 recently came face to face with representatives of the hospital that carried out the surgery.

Speaking to the press after a meeting with representatives of the Dr. Sulaiman Al-Habib Medical Hospital in front of a judge from Riyadh’s Medical Committee, Mahdi Al-Yami said the hospital had no defense, but the judge refused to accept a US medical report that stated his son’s eyes became worse as a result of the laser surgery in Riyadh.

The judge said the case would be delayed until Mohammed Al- Yami returns to the Kingdom from the US where he is studying and is checked by two doctors, preferably Saudis, at Riyadh’s King Khaled Eye Specialist Hospital.

However, Al-Yami said he could not afford to bring his son just for the hearing, which would cost him at least SR12,000.

Mohammed underwent Lasik surgery, a procedure that improves people’s eyesight freeing them from the need to wear contact lenses or eyeglasses. But after the surgery, his vision worsened. A clinic in the US later diagnosed him with corneal surface distortion that cannot be corrected with eyeglasses.

For three years, Mohammed — a straight-A student who underwent Lasik surgery to qualify for enrollment in the King Khaled Military Academy — and his father have been trying to file a complaint against the Riyadh hospital.

The Al-Yamis claim that instead of correcting the patient’s corneal distortion, the hospital made it worse, requiring him to wear special contact lenses and shutting out his chances of military training in the Kingdom. Mohammed is now in the US on a scholarship studying mechanical engineering.

Mahdi Al-Yami said he explained his son’s predicament to the judge and the hospital’s representatives. “My son now has to use special lenses that need to be changed every 10 months, cost over $1,000 and can only be purchased in the US,” he said.

“What will my son do when he returns as the lenses are not available in the Kingdom? After majoring in engineering, how can he work with his failing vision? The hospital’s representatives and judge replied that what has happened has happened, and that is God’s will,” said the father.

He expressed surprise at the fact that the doctors responsible continue their practice even after the judge acknowledged that his son’s case was one of medical malpractice.

Mohammed Al-Yami, from the southwestern city of Jizan, relocated to Riyadh after high school to undergo the SR11,000 eye surgery. When his vision didn’t improve, doctors prescribed drops for dryness, assuring him that a second procedure would correct his vision. But that surgery — apparently a more complicated and costlier procedure — never took place.

In a previous report, the Al-Yamis expressed anger that their complaint against the hospital was bounced from desk to desk for three years despite the Ministry of Health ordering an investigation.

The case has been ongoing since 2005 after the father complained to the minister of health who ordered an investigation.

The father is calling for the hospital to be punished and treatment for his son.