Two Deaths in 10 Days! Fatal Weight-Loss Surgery Incident at Kaohsiung Antai Hospital Reveals Three Critical Failures in Ministry of Health Report

Two female patients died within 10 days of undergoing 'sleeve gastrectomy with intestinal bypass' weight-loss surgery performed by Dr. Wang Ming-Yu at Kaohsiung Antai Hospital. Following an investigation by the Kaohsiung City Health Bureau, the Medical Disciplinary Committee decided to revoke Dr. Wang's medical license under Article 25-1 of the Medical Practitioners Act. The Ministry of Health and Welfare's special investigation report identified the primary causes as the surgeon's overly lenient criteria for weight-loss surgery eligibility, insufficient surgical risk assessment, and low alertness and response capability of the medical team in postoperative care.

The incident involved a 33-year-old female patient with a BMI of 37.89 and a 41-year-old female patient with a BMI of 31.79. The latter clearly did not meet the medical criteria for surgery, yet both underwent the procedure performed by Dr. Wang on June 30 and July 10, 2025, and died on July 3 and July 12, respectively, raising serious concerns.

The report stated that the direct factors included Dr. Wang conducting only one outpatient consultation before surgery, applying overly relaxed criteria for surgical eligibility—amounting to 'overtreatment'—inadequate risk assessment, and insufficient vigilance and response capacity in postoperative care. Contributing factors included whether patients gave fully informed consent and inadequate ward care capacity, with nurses having received only one training session on weight-loss surgery.

The Ministry emphasized the hospital's responsibility in managing the weight-loss team. The report noted that the collaboration model between Kaohsiung Antai Hospital and the weight-loss team was one of independent operation without a formal management system or hierarchical relationship. While the weight-loss team should comply with hospital regulations, the hospital bears the responsibility to appropriately supervise the team's clinical operations and outcomes.

The report stressed that all processes—from registration, consultation, to treatment—are critical clinical care data, including consultation records and patient education materials, and should not be communicated via social messaging apps. If telemedicine is used, it must comply with relevant regulations on remote diagnosis and treatment.

The report highlighted that Patient B, who did not meet surgical eligibility, had a history of multiple prior weight-loss surgeries, a risk factor that was not assessed. Performing surgery under these conditions constituted overtreatment. The necessity of surgery should be more carefully and comprehensively evaluated to avoid complications.

Regarding transfer timing, the report stated that decisions should be based on changes in patient condition, hospital resources, and treatment capacity. In this case, the receiving hospital was a regional facility, indicating insufficient alertness. When a patient's condition deteriorates urgently and the hospital lacks the resources or capability to respond, timely and appropriate transfer to a higher-level facility should be considered.