A Portuguese doctor has been suspended on charges of medical negligence after a baby was born under his care without eyes or a nose, and was missing part of his skull.
According to a report from BBC News, obstetrician Dr. Artur Carvalho has been suspended for six months as a result of the botched care he provided to baby Rodrigo. The parents of the child were apparently unaware of their son's severe physical deformities until he was actually delivered.
Baby Rodrigo, the son of Marlene Simão and David Ribeiro, was born on October 7 at São Bernardo Hospital in the coastal town of Setúbal - situated approximately 23 miles south of the capital city of Lisbon.
Marlene had gone for three separate ultrasound sessions at Dr. Carvalho's private clinic and claims that Carvalho did not inform them of any issues with their child's prenatal development.
It wasn't until Marlene's fourth ultrasound at a different clinic - six months into her pregnancy - that she was informed there were signs that her baby might be deformed.
However, Dr. Carvalho allegedly dismissed Marlene and David's concerns and told them there was no need for them to be anxious. He instead explained that certain features of the face are not visible in scans when a baby's face is stuck to the belly of its mother.
Yet other medical experts claim that little Rodrigo's facial defects should be been clearly visible to an obstetrician from the twelfth week of Marlene's pregnancy.
When Rodrigo was delivered, doctors at the hospital told his shocked and frightened parents that he would only live outside the womb for a few hours. Despite this grim prognosis, the child has allegedly survived and is currently under hospital care.
When Marlene and David submitted their complaint to the Portuguese Prosecutors' Office, it emerged that there have been six other complaints made against Carvalho since 2013.
Watch this video all about a mother who can finally kiss her child after they were born without skin:Per BBC News, in 2011 a woman named Laura Afonso told the Portuguese newspaper Publico that she'd submitted a criminal complaint against him (which had been dismissed) after he baby was born with a facial disfigurement, deformed legs, and severe brain damage under Carvalho's care.
Commenting on the controversy, medical council chief Alexandre Valentim Lourenco told a local broadcaster: "There is strong evidence [of medical negligence] which may lead to a disciplinary sanction."