Judge killed during egg collection: surgery was only performed 28 hours after hemorrhage

Two doctors who attended judge Mariana Francisco Ferreira, who died after carrying out an egg collection procedure, gave a statement to the Civil Police and reported that they warned numerous times about the need for emergency surgery to save the judge's life.

The procedure, however, was authorized by the doctor Maurício Ligabô, responsible for the collection, only approximately 28 hours after she entered the Mogi-Mater Hospital and Maternity.

Mariana underwent the egg collection procedure at the Invitro Assisted Reproduction Clinic, in Mogi das Cruzes (SP), on the morning of May 4th.

After the procedure, the judge returned home and began to feel a lot of pain, at which point she returned to the clinic and was taken to the hospital with an acute hemorrhage.

The report seeks contact with the doctor's defense. See below what everyone involved says.

Aggravation and morphine
One of the professionals who works at Mogi-Mater Hospital informed the Civil Police that she took on duty at 7pm on May 4th, when she learned about the seriousness of Mariana's case, who had low hemoglobin and the presence of free fluid in the uterine cavity. The report appears in the statement to which the Estado de São Paulo report and g1 had exclusive access.

Also according to the document, despite considering a "normal condition" resulting from "ovarian hyperstimulation" and the "self-resolving condition", the doctor informed that he would administer "a gynecological medication to dry the liquid".

The statement also states that during the night, new tests showed that Mariana's condition was worsening, causing the team to apply morphine to ease the patient's pain and contact the doctor again. Ligabô returned calls on the morning of the 5th, informing that he was on his way to the hospital.

Change in vital signs and refusal of surgery
According to the doctor, on the morning of the day after admission, the judge showed all the characteristic signs of excessive bleeding in addition to changes in imaging tests.

She informed that, despite it not being her medical specialty, she understood that this was a case that should have undergone surgical intervention as soon as possible to identify the source of the hemorrhage.

Also according to the professional, she informed Ligabô about the seriousness of the case, but the doctor was resistant and asked for new tests and medications. He was warned that cases like Mariana's should not be handled in this way.

"Maurício (Ligabô) anchored his conviction in a diagnosis of ovarian hyperstimulation, not indicating surgical conduct", says the excerpt from the statement to which Estadão had access.

With no improvement in the condition, the hospital's medical team once again contacted Ligabô to inform about the patient's severity. According to the statement, "Maurício went to personally evaluate Mariana and, during the bedside evaluation, he was faced with changes in vital signs, clinical changes, evident clinical signs of severity, but he maintained his behavior of not intervening surgically, supporting his diagnostic hypothesis in "ovarian hyperstimulation".

He left the hospital around 9am. At 11:46 am, the professional contacted Ligabô again, who informed that a doctor who is part of his team at the clinic would go to the hospital.

Almost three hours later, the doctor was again alerted to the seriousness of the patient's condition and asked whether he would come to the hospital. He reportedly replied that he would go.

Internal interference
In her statement, the doctor also said that she received a call from another doctor at the hospital informing that he had been contacted by Ligabô, "looking for a recommendation for another intensive care team to accompany Mariana, discrediting the declarant's work" and asking for a recommendation for a surgeon.

Ligabô returned to the hospital only at 6:30 pm on the 5th. During the visit, another hospital professional reiterated the seriousness of the situation, but Ligabô maintained his diagnostic hypothesis.

A paracentesis procedure (insertion of a needle to puncture the liquid) was performed on Mariana to demonstrate that there was blood and that she would need surgery urgently.

'Find an urgent doctor to operate on the patient'
Also according to the professional, another colleague had told her: "arrange an urgent doctor to operate on the patient, as she is fighting for her life, don't leave it alone", demonstrating dissatisfaction with Maurício Ligabô's conduct, the document says.

Mariana was taken to the surgical center at around 9pm. "In eight years, I've never seen a doctor there who was so resistant and so stubborn. I've never seen that [...] We have to pray to God now, so that the surgery is good and he can solve the problem soon. This wasn't supposed to be happening. 'This was supposed to be solved for you early on', the professional told the police. According to the report, Ligabô would have laughed. "Then he started laughing", says an excerpt from the hospital staff's dialogue.

Mariana passed away on the morning of the 6th, around 6am.

What those involved say
In a statement, the Public Security Secretariat (SSP) said that the victim's mother attended the police station and confirmed that Mariana carried out an egg collection for fertilization treatment.

After the procedure, the woman returned to her home and felt a lot of pain, at which point she returned to the Invitro Assisted Reproduction Clinic. She was later taken to the Mogi-Mater Hospital and Maternity, located on Rua Marechal Deodoro, also in Mogi das Cruzes, with an acute hemorrhage. "She underwent a surgical procedure, but did not survive," said the secretary.

The case was registered as a suspicious death at the 1st DP of Mogi das Cruzes, where efforts are underway to clarify the facts. Estadão contacted the Invitro Assisted Reproduction Clinic and is awaiting a response.

The Mogi-Mater Hospital and Maternity said that the patient was admitted with acute bleeding. "Given the seriousness of the case, she was promptly attended to by the emergency room team and immediately taken to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU)," the hospital reported.

According to the hospital network, since admission, all applicable medical and care measures were tirelessly adopted by multidisciplinary teams, with the aim of stabilizing the patient's clinical condition.

"As she had not undergone any previous procedure at the hospital, the doctor responsible for the clinic was called to monitor the case and did so, including the surgical procedure carried out on Tuesday, 5th. "Despite all the efforts made by the hospital team, unfortunately she died the following day", said the hospital when mourning her death.

Who was the judge
Born in Niterói, Rio de Janeiro, Mariana Francisco Ferreira said she had the dream of becoming a judge since she was a teenager. She joined the Judiciary of Rio Grande do Sul in December 2023, when she passed the exam and was assigned to the 1st Judicial Court of the District of Parobé.

He also served as judge at the 1st Regional Court of Guarantees in the District of Porto Alegre in the 1st and 2nd Criminal Court of São Luiz Gonzaga before arriving at the Criminal Court of Sapiranga, in February this year.

Source: CNN