Authorities in Assam, India, have launched an investigation into a senior gynaecologist who performed 21 caesarean sections within a span of just 10 hours, raising questions about patient safety and medical oversight in the state’s public hospitals.
Dr. Kantheswar Bordoloi, senior medical officer at Morigaon Civil Hospital, carried out the procedures between 3:40 p.m. on September 5 and 1:50 a.m. on September 6, according to a notice issued by the local administration.
Officials have asked him to explain why disciplinary action should not be taken and to provide detailed medical reports for each case.
The administration cited concerns about inadequate sterilisation records, poor documentation of pre- and post-operative care, and risks to both mothers and infants.
“Such detailed documentation is imperative for strengthening infection control protocols and preventing maternal and infant morbidity and mortality,” the show-cause notice stated.
Dr. Bordoloi, however, defended his work, saying high surgical volumes are not unusual in India’s overstretched hospitals.
“In uncomplicated cases, a C-section can take as little as 15 minutes. We have two operating tables, so sterilisation was never compromised,” he told The Assam Tribune. He added that 19 mothers and newborns had already been discharged in stable condition, with only two still under hospital care.
India has witnessed a sharp rise in C-sections in recent decades, climbing from 17 percent of births in the late 1990s to more than 21 percent today. Global health experts, including The Lancet, have warned of a “caesarean epidemic,” stressing that while the surgery can save lives, unnecessary procedures carry significant risks and costs.
The case comes just weeks after Assam police arrested a fake doctor accused of performing more than 50 C-sections over a decade, fuelling public anxiety about medical regulation and accountability in the region.
