A Swedish doctor, Akram Ghazal, has been sentenced to two years in prison for gross negligence leading to the death of Maha Kadoura during a cosmetic surgery. The court found multiple serious oversights, including incorrect medication and lack of proper monitoring. The case highlights significant concerns about medical practices and patient safety.
Doctor Sentenced for Fatal Malpractice in Cosmetic Surgery
Doctor Akram Ghazal Sentenced for 49-Year-Old Maha's Death
Maha Kadoura, 49, was scheduled for a tummy tuck surgery. She never woke up. Doctor Akram Ghazal, 64, used the wrong medication, failed to adjust the dosage, and neglected proper monitoring. On Tuesday, he was convicted of gross negligence leading to another's death.
Over two years have passed since Mostafa Kaoud, 60, lost his wife.
On Tuesday, the responsible doctor was sentenced to two years in prison by the Malmö District Court for gross negligence leading to another's death.
The process has been long.
But Mostafa Kaoud and the couple's three adult children are satisfied with the guilty verdict, he says.
"We hope it ends here. Not just for our sake, but for society's sake. Lives should not be risked unnecessarily."
They do not want something similar to happen again. Maha was a very caring person, he says.
"She thought of everyone. She lived for others, not just herself."
Maha had previously worked as a childcare worker and shortly before the surgery, she had applied for a course to become a preschool teacher.
"At one of the preschools where she worked, all the children cried when she left," says Mostafa Kaoud.
Incorrect Dosage
In March 2023, the 49-year-old underwent abdominal surgery at a private beauty clinic in Malmö to correct abdominal muscles that were separated around a 20-year-old cesarean section.
But she never woke up from the anesthesia.
Doctor, 64-year-old Akram Ghazal, was found guilty of several serious oversights, the Malmö District Court states in the verdict.
Among other things, he unnecessarily and incorrectly administered a dangerous muscle relaxant, prescribed insulin incorrectly and dangerously, and failed to monitor Maha Kadoura while she was under anesthesia.
Gross Incompetence in Nine Cases
The verdict also states that he lacked a Sweden-approved specialization in anesthesia.
The Health and Social Care Inspectorate (Ivo) has reviewed nine of his patient cases. He has been deemed grossly incompetent in all of them.
In the spring of 2025, the Health and Medical Care Responsibility Board (HSAN) revoked his medical license.
"HSAN, upon revoking the license, noted that his professional practice showed a series of serious deficiencies that in each of the reported patient cases exposed patients to great medical risks and stated that it is very remarkable that he, with these competence and knowledge deficiencies, took on the responsibility to anesthetize patients," the court writes in the verdict.
Akram Ghazal has denied the crime.