Death after Thyroidectomy

pepperchills

Doc just want to ask kasi there's this patient who underwent thyroidectomy, tapos a day or 2 after the procedure the patient died. The doctor told the family that the patient died of pancreatitis. Di ba po thyroidectomy is not a really complicated procedure and the only thing that can make it complicated is when the patient is hyperthyroid during the surgery? (correct me na lang po if im wrong...)

kasi the family cannot accept the pancreatitis as the cause of death so they're filing for a malpractice case.

thank u po.

Ira

Thyroidectomy is a major operation, but not really an unusually complicated procedure--it's pretty run-of-the-mill for general surgeons, and complications commonly stem from either post-op infection, poorly ligated bleeders in the neck causing asphyxation due to accumulation of blood which compresses the trachea, and poorly-controlled hyperthyroidism resulting in thyroid storm.

However, that does not mean that just because a patient is post-thyroidectomy and is in the hospital, he's exempt from getting acute pancreatitis. Pancreatitis is a common condition, and can really cause death if it's a fulminant type. I don't know enough of the case to say if there's actually malpractice involved--malpractice only means that the doctor's management veered from accepted medical treatment. If the patient died inspite of proper medical care, it's not medical malpractice. Best thing to do is to get the hospital chart and consult a general surgeon for a second opinion if there is actually malpractice involved. No surgeon in any part of the world is exempt from having a patient die even if the surgery went beautifully. Unforeseen complications happen.

pepperchills

Thanks doc! i'll try to look on that.