A Medical Council inquiry has begun into allegations against a doctor in a case where the wrong operation was performed on a child at Our Lady's Children's Hospital in 2010.
The allegations of poor professional performance are against consultant paediatric surgeon Professor Martin Corbally.
A tongue-tie release operation was performed instead of the release of an upper lip frenulum on the two-year-old girl, known as Patient X.
The Medical Council has withdrawn all allegations against registrar Dr Farhan who performed the operation.
The decision to withdraw the allegations is based on Professor Corbally's acceptance that before the operation he told Dr Farhan to perform a tongue-tie operation.
The inquiry continues against Prof Corbally, who is facing five allegations of poor professional performance.
It is alleged that he wrongly described the procedure in the medical records, failed to communicate adequately with Dr Farhan and did not apply the standards of clinical judgment expected from a surgeon.
Patient X's parents had raised concerns about the operation before it took place in Crumlin on 30 April 2010.
Prof Corbally was due to perform the operation on Patient X, but was called away and delegated it to Dr Farhan.
After the wrong operation was performed, Prof Corbally asked Dr Farhan to speak to the parents and seek consent to a second operation.
The second operation was performed and Prof Corbally apologised to the parents for what had occurred.
Prof Corbally appeared before a Medical Council inquiry in 2010 in a case that involved the removal of the wrong kidney of a young boy at the same hospital.
That case was halted when Prof Corbally undertook not to repeat the conduct complained of.
Girl's mother gives evidence
Patient X's mother Siobhan told the inquiry that her daughter suffered continuous mouth ulcers and found it hard to brush her teeth.
She said this was due to tightness in her upper lip.
The woman brought her daughter to her GP in January 2010 and was referred to Prof Corbally, who said it was a small operation.
Before the operation Siobhan met a nurse, who checked her daughter's mouth and said it was tongue tied.
Siobhan said she queried that with the nurse and a doctor, who took the consent for the operation, because she knew her daughter was not tongue-tied.
She was reassured that the right operation was planned.
Later, a doctor told her the wrong operation had been performed and the right one could be done shortly.
Siobhan told the inquiry her daughter is fine now and is well.
Eileen Barrington, senior counsel for Prof Corbally, told the inquiry that the facts in the case were not in dispute.
She said various people did not communicate matters as per hospital policy.
She told the inquiry that Prof Corbally had been obliged to enter the procedure in the patient admission system the way he did.
Earlier, Dr Fatima Al Oraifi, a senior house officer, who took the consent for the operation, said she thought she would have been there in theatre for the procedure.
She said she had never seen an upper frenulum release before.
Prof Corbally is participating in the inquiry by video link from Bahrain.
An independent British expert, Edinburgh paediatric surgeon Hugh Grant, told the inquiry he would not expect a consultant paediatric surgeon to make such a mistake in naming an operation.
The inquiry has adjourned to 1.30pm tomorrow.
