Masala salesman-turned-surgeon watched DIY YouTube tutorials before surgeries

The salesman who ran an orthopaedic clinic in Vasai for over three years with a fake medical degree allegedly took the DIY do it yourself route to carry out surgeries on patients The arrested accused Hemant Sonawane alias Hemant Patil has told the police that he would watch YouTube videos before performing complicated procedures His patients the victims of botched operations are now paying the priceSonawane who had been running the clinic since 2018 was recently arrested Sources said he is well aware of medical terminologies related to bones as he once dealt in orthopaedic medical equipmentAccused Hemant Sonawane alias Hemant Patil PicsHanif PatelldquoHe seems to be very a confident man with zero medical knowledge But he would pretend to be a seasoned medical practitioner and was an orthopaedic consultant with many hospitals in VasaiVirarNalasoparardquo said an officer attached to Vasai police stationldquoWhen he was a salesman he came in touch with many orthopaedic doctors After a patient contacted him with a problem Sonawane would always consult them for medical advice and later he would watch these surgeries on YouTube before operating his patientsrdquo the officer saidLeena Khatkekar who was operated upon by Sonawane in 2019 is mostly confined to her bedThe alleged fraudster who was once a masala salesman married five women all welleducated and independent He was arrested after one of his wives a dentist learnt about his fake medical degree and reported him to the police in Amravati Sonawane allegedly had relationships with many nurses at the hospitals where he was a consultant said the sourceThe police have recovered a diary where Sonawane had mentioned the details of his patients ldquoWe have learnt about halfdozen such patients who underwent surgeries at the hand of Sonawanehellip We are in the process of recording their statements and separate FIRs will be registered to make it a watertight case against himrdquo the officer addedSonawanersquos nowshuttered clinic in Vasai PicsHanif PatelTwo years after lsquosurgeryrsquo fisherwoman still in painThe family of one more victim of Sonawane has now come forward A Vasai fisherwoman Leena Khatkekar underwent hip joint replacement surgery at Shree Sai Multispeciality Hospital Vasai in December 2019 by Sonawane The 43yearold is nearly bedridden since then her husband Liladhar told middayldquoThe wound is yet to healhellippuss still oozes from the woundhellipI am too poor to afford the treatment for my wifehellipshe is almost bedridden after the surgeryhellipSonawane has ruined usrdquo he saidBefore surgery Liladhar said Leena would go to Colaba to sell fish ldquoBut she developed pain in the lower back I took her to the clinic of Sonawane in Vasai and he told me that she urgently needed hip surgeryrdquo Liladhar saidldquoHe told me that the surgery would cost nearly Rs 175 lakh and she will be all fine I contacted my relatives who helped me financially Also I took a loan to meet the medical expensesrdquo said Liladhar adding ldquoThe total medical cost was R4 lakhrdquoShe was first admitted to Siddhivinayak Hospital in Vasai he said ldquoBut after two days Sonawane told me to shift her to Shree Sai Multispeciality Hospital as there was no ICU in Siddhivinayak hospital On December 18 2019 her first surgery was conductedrdquo he saidldquoAfter six days he conducted a second surgery and she was dischargedrdquoThe couple was asked to visit Sonawanersquos clinic for the dressing of the wound and followupldquoMy wife would always tell me that there is no relief in the pain after the surgeries We also told the same to the doctor but he would reply saying lsquothik ho jaegarsquohellipI told him that the lsquoI can understand that the surgeries were unsuccessful but at least the wound should healrsquo but he would scream at mehellip I thought he is a doctor who would know better than me but he was a fraud who made our life hellrdquo he addedAfter a few weeks lockdown was imposed and the couple could not meet Sonawane ldquoHe would always tell me on phone to visit a hospital in Bhayandar but he did not name the hospitalhellip I was so helpless that I started dressing her wound as I had no money left to take her for treatment in the lockdownrdquo said LiladharNow Leena needs a walker to reach the washroom Most of the time she is confined to the bedLiladhar said he recently learnt about the case against Sonawane and approached the police A team is yet to visit his house to record the statement of his wifeDr Padmaraj Patil director of Shree Sai Multispeciality Hospital said ldquoIn a bid to be the consultant at our hospital Sonawane had submitted the copy of his medical degree and we had forwarded it to the municipal corporation We were not aware that he is a fake orthosurgeonrdquo He added ldquoBut after a month when we learnt about a few botched surgeries by Sonawane we stopped himrdquo