Marlene Simão and David Ribeiro were excited to welcome their first baby earlier this month — but were shocked when their son arrived with serious birth defects they weren't expecting. The parents, who live in Portugal, say they were told nothing was wrong with their baby during the pregnancy, and they thought there was no cause to worry. But their doctor has been suspended after allegedly failing to catch that their child did not have eyes, nose, or part of his skull.
Simão had reportedly gone for three ultrasound scans at a private clinic throughout her pregnancy -- all of which seemed completely normal.
At no time did Dr. Artur Carvalho raise any concerns about her unborn son's development, the BBC reported.
The only red flag came during their six-month scan, when a 5D ultrasound at a different clinic showed the possibility of abnormalities. When they reportedly brought the results back to Carvalho, however, he quickly dismissed their concerns.
"He explained that sometimes some parts of the face are not visible (on ultrasounds) … when the baby's face is glued to the belly of the mother," the baby's aunt explained to a local news agency.
But when their baby, Rodrigo, was born October 7, it was clear that Carvalho had been devastatingly wrong.
In addition to his birth abnormalities, the parents were told that Rodrigo would only survive a few short hours after his birth. And yet, despite the odds, he has lived for more than three weeks and counting.
Simão and Ribeiro have since submitted a complaint against Carvalho to the Portuguese Prosecutors' Office. The Portugal medical office, Ordem dos Médicos, has voted to suspend the doctor's license for six months while it investigates, according to People.
The case has shed light on six other complaints lobbied against the doctor since 2013.
The BBC reported that those six other cases aren't the ones that have been waged against the doctor — they're just the only ones that are open. In 2011, a baby born under Carvalho's care was also born with a facial disfigurement, in addition to deformed legs and severe brain damage.
The mother of that child, Laura Afonso, attempted to file a complaint against Carvalho after her baby was born, but the case was dismissed. Her son is now 8 years old, and even after multiple operations, still can't walk or speak.
The situation has sparked considerable outrage in Portugal, where many are using Carvalho's negligence as an example of the country's poor medical system.
In fact, the public outcry was what finally caused a representative from Ordem dos Médicos to reach out to Carvalho, who at first merely agreed to stop performing procedures while the investigation continued.
In a committee meeting last week, Ordem dos Médicos agreed that a stronger measure had to be taken, which is when it officially suspended the doctor's license.
Meanwhile, Alexandre Valentim Lourenco, medical council chief for the southern region, said there was "strong evidence" that the doctor had been negligent, which "may lead to a disciplinary sanction." Lourenco added that he hoped the suspension would go a long way to reassure pregnant women in Portugal after such a disturbing scandal.
