Anesthesiologist Fails to Obtain Patient History Before General Anesthesia

Case Overview

This case involves an elderly man who had been suffering from a hunched back associated with advanced ankylosing spondylitis. During an MRI, a suspicious mass was identified near his liver incidentally, which prompted doctors to recommend a biopsy of the affected area. In order to perform the biopsy, an anesthesiologist recommended that the patient be put under general anesthesia. The doctor made this recommendation despite the fact that there was no known medical history for the patient. Nevertheless, the patient was taken for the procedure to be performed, where he was put under general anesthesia and intubated. Shortly after the procedure, the patient was noted to have a severe spinal fracture, which eventually proved to contribute to his death a few months later.