A verdict in the case against three doctors involved in a routine nose operation that sent an Emirati woman into a coma is expected to be given next month.
Rowdha Rashed, 25, visited First Med Day Surgery Centre in Dubai in April last year to correct a deviated septum.
Some time into what should have been a two-hour procedure, her doctors failed to detect a sudden drop in her blood pressure and she suffered a cardiac arrest.
Her body was deprived of oxygen for seven minutes, causing her severe brain damage.
On Tuesday, UAE judges said they would announce their decision in the case on March 18.
The hearing follows months of investigations by senior prosecutors and experts from Dubai Health Authority.
Ms Rashed, a first year master’s student, is understood to have paid around Dh50,000 for the surgery.
But she now requires round-the-clock medical care, with her surgeon, anaesthetist and anaesthetist's assistant all accused of "grave medical malpractice".
Immediately after the incident, the DHA announced the closure of the centre until the case was settled.
Ms Rashed's father, Abdullah Rashed, has previously told The National of his concerns over the operation.
“I told her that the money didn’t matter and that we should just leave [the centre],” he said.
“All we pray for is for her to respond to us. Her eyes will flutter and then she closes them again she does not respond to anything.”
