Khaberni - A circulating video documented the moments of a young girl's dental treatment in Kazakhstan, revealing new developments in the case of the death of Ziri Yessentai, who passed away at three and a half years old inside a private clinic after undergoing a complex medical procedure which later turned out to have numerous violations.
The Astana court displayed the recorded footage during a recent judicial session, which showed the girl lying under anesthesia, surrounded by four medical staff.
The prosecution explained that the medical team made a severe mistake, as they began treating 18 teeth at once without performing a comprehensive medical examination beforehand or seeking additional pediatric advice, despite her health condition demanding it.
The medical records revealed that Ziri was injected with 20 milligrams of 1% lidocaine, a dose exceeding the recommended limit for children her age, which should not exceed 12 milligrams, and experts confirmed that not performing an electrocardiogram (ECG) made administering this dose medically unjustifiable.
However, the most surprising revelation came from the toxicological analysis, which found no traces of lidocaine in the child's blood.
Experts speculate that this discrepancy suggests two possibilities: either the drug was not injected at all despite being recorded, or a different substance was used instead of lidocaine without documentation, especially given the discovery of unregistered and expired drugs and others without labels within the clinic.
The prosecution emphasized that this lapse in drug documentation is considered one of the most serious violations linked to the case and may have played a direct role in the series of errors that led to the child's cardiac arrest.
On his part, Talgat Kumarov, the victim's father, stated that the family had officially requested a full audit of the clinic's activities, noting that the doctors informed them that the treatment procedure would take between 3 to 4 hours, but the real decision regarding the duration of the procedure and how it was to be executed (how long it would take, and whether all teeth would be treated at once) was made later by the two supervising doctors during the operation itself.
Ziri died inside the clinic on October 30, 2024, due to cerebral swelling resulting from oxygen deprivation, according to initial reports, after the family paid 500,000 Tenge for the treatment plan.
Meanwhile, the anesthesiologist's lawyer, Sagingali Yeliulov, stated that the death was due to a sudden cardiac arrest, and not a direct medical error, while the prosecution insists that the chain of violations led to the arrest.
The anesthesiologist and the dentist are being tried under Article 317 of the Kazakhstan Criminal Code, with possible penalties including up to three years in prison or a fine if their responsibility is proven.
Court sessions have resumed since last week amid widespread demands for accountability for all those involved in the child's death.
