A 44-year-old man came through an emergency operation at Tuz Khurmatu General Hospital only to die soon after, when a heavy meal eaten against medical instructions triggered a fatal collapse, according to the hospital’s account carried by local media.
The surgery itself had gone well. Hospital officials said the man was admitted needing urgent surgery, that the procedure was completed successfully, and that he came out of it conscious and stable. Staff moved him to the surgical ward to recover, where his surgeon told him to take only liquids and very light food during the early post-operative period.
That order was ignored. Relatives brought him a kebab meal from a nearby restaurant, and he ate a large amount of it. Severe abdominal pain and vomiting followed, and his vital signs then fell away rapidly. Surgical, anesthesia and resuscitation teams tried to save him but could not.
An initial hospital review pointed to a possible sudden heart attack. His body was sent to the forensic medicine department in Kirkuk to establish the precise cause, which authorities are still awaiting.
The death drew heavy attention on Iraqi social media, where some users alleged a wrong medication dose was to blame. The hospital rejected that, saying every treatment and drug given from admission until his death had been appropriate and in line with established protocols.
