Patient Dies After Receiving General Anesthesia

Case Overview

This case takes place in Pennsylvania and involves a male patient who was a candidate for an elective cosmetic procedure. The patient underwent a preoperative workup, which revealed some troubling findings with his heart. In spite of these findings, his providers planned to have him undergo the surgery and then undergo cardiac evaluation following the procedure. The patient presented for the procedure as planned and was monitored for the duration. The patient received general anesthesia. No vital signs were documented after the procedure. Some time after the procedure, the patient was found unresponsive in the recovery room. The patient appeared to have suffered a massive heart attack, and doctors were unable to resuscitate him.

Questions to the Anesthesiology expert and their responses

Do you treat patients with similar presentation? If so, how often?

I have been involved in similar situations as a caregiver, as a reviewer on our hospital's code committee, and as an expert.

What is the standard of care for these kinds of patients? How should these patients be monitored postoperatively?

There are many reasons for this arrest and the primary reason in all of these cases is inappropriate monitoring leading to a respiratory event.

About the expert

This highly qualified and board certified Anesthesiologist is currently an Associate Professor of two Anesthesiology departments at a major university. He has published over 100 peer-reviewed articles in a variety of medical journals including Anesthesia & Analgesia, Anesthesiology, and the Journal of Clinical Anesthesia. He has also authored an anesthesiology handbook, and he travels both nationally and internationally as an invited lecturer. He has received numerous awards for his work as both a clinician and an educator, and he has specifically published on airway management.