WebM&M: Case Studies

A 6-week-old infant underwent a craniotomy and excision of abnormal brain tissue for treatment of hemimegalencephaly and epilepsy. A right femoral central venous catheter and an arterial catheter were inserted, as well as 22-gauge intravenous catheter inserted into the external jugular vein, which was covered with surgical drapes.  During the surgical procedure, the neurosurgeon adjusted the patient’s head, displacing the external jugular intravenous catheter into the subcutaneous tissue.  The catheter’s dislodgment went unnoticed due to its position underneath the surgical drapes. The commentary discusses the importance intraoperative monitoring of intravenous catheters and the use of surgical safety checklists to improve communication and prevent surgical complications.

A seven-year-old girl with esophageal stenosis underwent upper endoscopy with esophageal dilation under general anesthesia. During the procedure, she was fully monitored with a continuous arterial oxygen saturation probe, heart rate monitors, two-lead electrocardiography, continuous capnography, and non-invasive arterial blood pressure measurements. The attending gastroenterologist and endoscopist were serially dilating the esophagus with larger and larger rigid dilators when the patient suddenly developed hypotension. She was immediately given a fluid bolus, phenylephrine, and 100% oxygen but still developed cardiac arrest. Cardiopulmonary resuscitation was initiated with cardiac massage, but she could not be resuscitated and died. This commentary highlights the role of communication between providers, necessary technical steps to mitigate the risks of upper endoscopy in children, and the importance of education and training for care team members.

A 61-year-old male was admitted for a right total knee replacement under regional anesthesia. The surgeon – unaware that the anesthesiologist had already performed a right femoral nerve block with 20 ml (100mg) of 0.5% racemic bupivacaine for postoperative analgesia – also infiltrated the arthroplasty wound with 200 mg of ropivacaine. The patient was sedated with an infusion of propofol throughout the procedure. At the end of the procedure, after stopping the propofol infusion, the patient remained unresponsive, and the anesthesiologist diagnosed the patient with Local Anesthetic Systemic Toxicity (LAST). The commentary addresses the symptoms of LAST, the importance of adhering to local anesthetic dosing guidelines, and the essential role of effective communication between operating room team members.

Following surgery under general anesthesia, a boy was extubated and brought to postanesthesia care unit (PACU). Due to the patient's age and length of the surgery, the PACU anesthesiologist ordered continuous pulse-oximetry monitoring for 24 hours. Deemed stable to leave the PACU, the boy was transported to the regular floor. When the nurse went to place the patient on pulse oximetry, she realized he was markedly hypoxic. She administered oxygen by face mask, but he became bradycardic and hypotensive and a code blue was called.

During laparoscopic subtotal colon resection for adenocarcinoma, a patient's bladder was accidentally lacerated and surgeons repaired it without difficulty. As nurses set up bladder irrigation equipment, no one noticed the bag of solution was dripping into the power supply of an anesthesiology monitor. Suddenly sparks and flames began shooting from the monitor, and the OR filled with black smoke. Fortunately, the fire was extinguished quickly and neither the patient nor any OR staff was injured.

Following outpatient laparoscopic surgery to repair an inguinal hernia, a man with no significant past medical history had high levels of pain at the surgical site and was admitted to the hospital. With sustained pain on postoperative day 3, the patient developed tachycardia with abdominal distension and a low-grade fever. A CT scan revealed a bowel perforation, which required surgery and a lengthy ICU stay due to septicemia.

Following surgery for peripheral vascular disease, a patient otherwise ready for discharge complains of liquid shooting from his nose. The surgeons make the patient NPO and order a consultation from an otolaryngologist, who discovers the nasopharyngeal airway still lodged in the patient's nasal cavity.

Despite a box on the admission form warning against using blood thinners and epidural anesthesia together, a patient admitted for elective surgery receives both, and becomes permanently paralyzed.

Despite a "time out" and having his leg marked by the surgeon, a patient comes perilously close to having surgery on the wrong leg.

While repositioning the trocar, a surgeon places the laparoscope on a tray sitting on the patient. When she picks it back up, she notices that the drape has melted and the patient has a second-degree burn.

To achieve tight glucose control, a hospitalized diabetes patient is placed on an insulin drip. Prior to minor surgery, he is made NPO and becomes severely hypoglycemic.

Owing to privacy concerns, a nurse draws the drapes on a 3-year-old child in recovery following surgery, and unfortunately does not realize the child is in distress until loud inspiratory stridor is heard.

Trusting an incorrectly labeled chest x-ray over physical exam findings, a resident places a chest tube for pneumothorax in the wrong side.

During a hernia repair, surgeons decide to remove a patient's hydrocele, spermatic cord, and left testicle—without realizing that his right testicle had been removed previously.

Trusting his memory more than the chart, a surgeon directs a resident to remove the wrong side on a patient with unilateral vulvar cancer.

A patient dies from infection and complications months after surgery; a retained sponge is found at autopsy.

A woman required emergency vascular surgery due to a complication during routine laparoscopic tubal ligation.