Publication
Fatal visit to the dentist
Journal Paper/Review - Nov 8, 2013
Sterzik Vera, Tatschner Thomas, Roewer Norbert, Barrera Daniel, Bohnert Michael
Units
PubMed
Doi
Citation
Type
Journal
Publication Date
Issn Electronic
Pages
Brief description/objective
A 23-year-old woman was mortally afraid of dental interventions and decided to have her four wisdom teeth removed by outpatient surgery under endotracheal anaesthesia. According to the files, the patient was categorized as ASA I and Mallampati II, and surgery was considered an elective routine intervention. Soon after initiation of anaesthesia, O2 saturation and blood pressure dropped, and the young woman died shortly afterwards in spite of immediate resuscitation measures. At first, an allergic reaction to succinylcholine, which had been administered as a muscle relaxant, was suspected. Autopsy and histological examination showed haemorrhagic pulmonary oedema and a defined lesion in the midportion of the oesophageal mucosa in spite of correct placement of the endotracheal breathing tube. Ultimately, misintubation into the oesophagus, which had not been noticed at first, was determined as cause of death.