Health | Domestic violence victim opts for surgery in UK

A 31-year-old local woman whose severe injuries stemming from a domestic violence case formed the center of spat earlier this month between lawmaker Agnes Lam and several government entities has decided to undergo medical treatment in the United Kingdom.

The information was disclosed by lawmaker Lam on the sidelines of yesterday’s meeting of the Second Standing Committee of the Legislative Assembly (AL).

The victim’s family is also preparing to make an appointment in May with the U.K.-based medical team according to Lam.

The victim was attacked by her husband in July 2018, who used boiling oil and drain cleaning liquid. It resulted in injuries and burns to 40 percent of her body including her face and head, blindness, and loss of control of her limbs.

Previously, the family of the victim announced in February that they had received sufficient donations (MOP1.32 million) for the young woman to receive osteo-odonto-keratoprosthesis in the U.K.

Osteo-odonto-keratoprosthesis is a medical procedure used to restore vision in patients with the most severe cases of corneal and ocular surface damage.

The victim’s vision has been seriously compromised, according to the Macau Health Bureau (SSM), which also said that the woman’s burns are now healed, and that the patient had undergone several surgeries in Hong Kong to repair her ocular injuries, although her eyesight could not be restored to an acceptable level.

Last month, the SSM denied the patient’s request for surgery in the U.K. The SSM stated that this kind of surgery was not considered compatible with the type of injury sustained by the patient, and that some surgical complications could lead to complete blindness, or even necessitate removal of the eye. Hence, the bureau found it was “not advisable for the patient to receive such treatment.”

In the same month, a local charity offered to sponsor surgery in Singapore in order to help the woman regain her eyesight.

The charity was to give the victim between USD70,000 and USD80,000. The charity fund had conditions regarding the medical treatment, stating that the surgery must be done in Singapore and that it would be up to the committee to select the medical institute. The money was to be paid directly to the Singaporean hospital.

The SSM then publicly announced that the victim’s family had accepted the support.

However, the family eventually declined to have the operation Singapore. JZ