Jam Hospital: Surgeon Abbas Kiarostami Was Absent Due to 'Travel' During His Surgery

The head of Jam Hospital announced that Ahmad Mir, the surgeon for Abbas Kiarostami, was absent during the gallbladder surgery of this prominent Iranian director due to 'travel', but the determination of 'medical negligence' in this case falls under the jurisdiction of the Medical Council. Bahman Kiarostami, Mr. Kiarostami's son, reacted to these statements by saying that his father's surgeon was not present during either the gallbladder surgery or his 'fourth' surgery, and that 'no infectious specialist' participated in his treatment. According to the state news agency IRNA, Mohsen Tadinfar, the head of Jam Hospital, said on Tuesday, August 5, that 'the surgeon for the late Abbas Kiarostami, Dr. Ahmad Mir, is the son of Dr. Mohammad Reza Mir, and it was never intended for his father to operate on Mr. Kiarostami.' Mr. Tadinfar stated that Ahmad Mir had operated on Mr. Kiarostami 'four times' at Jam Hospital but was not present during the gallbladder surgery, and 'his surgical team performed the operation.' He announced that he has 'no opinion' regarding any potential 'negligence' in Mr. Kiarostami's case, and a commission at the Medical Council will make a decision on this matter. Jam Hospital also issued a statement saying that an 'unforeseen complication occurred during the surgery, which was controlled with great effort,' and he left the hospital with 'relative improvement.' Abbas Kiarostami's medical file is currently under review by a special committee at the Medical Council, which states that its investigations have not yet concluded. Abbas Kiarostami's sons have repeatedly stated that they lost their father due to 'medical negligence,' but the physician in his case and some other responsible officials are unwilling to confirm this. Bahman Kiarostami reacted to the head of Jam Hospital's statements by stating that Dr. Ahmad Mir was not present during the gallbladder surgery nor during his father's 'fourth surgery' on April 1. He also responded to the head of Jam Hospital's claim of an infectious specialist's involvement in his father's treatment by stating that Dr. Maziar Parsa, the infectious specialist at Jam Hospital, was not present from April 2 to 15, and no other infectious specialist participated in the treatment of this filmmaker. Mr. Kiarostami's son also commented on the possibility of 'medical negligence,' saying, 'Given the numerous complaints filed against Jam Hospital in judicial authorities, Mr. Dr. Tadinfar must know that there is a legal distinction between medical negligence and fault.' He added, 'The difference between negligence and fault is that negligence refers to an error that occurs unintentionally.' The controversial death of Abbas Kiarostami, a prominent Iranian director, has recently brought the issue of 'medical error' to the forefront of Iranian society, and a campaign has been created on Facebook under this title that has received significant attention. Meanwhile, the ISNA news agency published a report on August 2 based on statistics from the Legal Medicine Organization, showing that the rate of physician convictions has been increasing from 2012 to 2015. Abbas Kiarostami, who created significant works over the past five decades, passed away in a hospital in Paris in July of this year.