"Freak kidney donor death shows the frightening danger of anesthesia"

[Carbocation1]

"The reality is that there are no safe surgeries, and the main culprit is anesthesia, or the practice of temporarily inducing a state of unconsciousness."

http://www.morningticker.com/2015/1...h-shows-the-frightening-danger-of-anesthesia/

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[Wiscoblue]

Was it really an 'anesthesia' death? This looks like it was written by a high school kid.

 

[ryanjmy]

So according to the article the risk of death is 0.03% with the risk of death from anesthesia being 0.0007%. It's would seem that anesthesia is not the main culprit.

 

[Psai]

Everything is a routine surgery in the news

 

[Planktonmd]

Anyone knows what really happened?

 

[Jimmy Chitwood]

Sometimes I wish I could live in that same fantasy land, where I can write whatever I want, without citing any reputable, peer-reviewed sources for my claims. Research would be way easier.

 

[WholeLottaGame7]

Anyone knows what really happened?

C'mon now, why would you want the truth getting in the way of a good headline?

 

[deleted126335]

The perception that anesthesia is safe and routine has done more harm to the medical specialty of anesthesiology than almost anything else.

 

[Mad Jack]

He calls anesthesia the main culprit while later stating one in 20 deaths are from anesthesia... It's like he doesn't even know how to math, wtf.

 

[nimbus]

We had a death in a living kidney donor when I was a resident. It was the result of renal vein avulsion off the IVC. And the kidney could not be used Donor nephrectomy can be dangerous in the wrong hands. The urologist left town. Tragic all around.

 

[cchoukal]

I did notice that in both articles I read on this, the death occurred "after" surgery, rather than during.

 

[Cytarabine]

We had a death in a living kidney donor when I was a resident. It was the result of renal vein avulsion off the IVC. And the kidney could not be used Donor nephrectomy can be dangerous in the wrong hands. The urologist left town. Tragic all around.

That's some sad ****

 

[fakin' the funk]

I know zero details of the case, but if you read the original SF Chronicle article, the donor nephrectomy was in October and the death appears to have been in November. There have been no details to suggest that this was an intraoperative death, other than the comments of a a nephrologist at another hospital (Katznelson) saying something about how a donor's death is a "nightmare scenario" and some vague words about general anesthesia.

The article posted in this thread is rehashed data and speculation.

 

[Random Anesthesiologist]

This article refers to what "anesthetists" do (last paragraph). Thankfully we are Anesthesiologists (or in training to become one).

 

[fakin' the funk]

We had a death in a living kidney donor when I was a resident. It was the result of renal vein avulsion off the IVC. And the kidney could not be used Donor nephrectomy can be dangerous in the wrong hands. The urologist left town. Tragic all around.

That sounds terrible, but also, survivable.

 

[nimbus]

That sounds terrible, but also, survivable.

It was over 20 years ago. I wasn't involved in the case but heard the IVC was nearly transected. I work with a couple of trauma/vascular surgeons now who might be able to obtain control of such an injury with the right exposure. But not then....

 

[GA8314]

The perception that anesthesia is safe and routine has done more harm to the medical specialty of anesthesiology than almost anything else.

Agreed. It's a sad reality as well that one of our "saving graces" is the super sad state of most American's health. The comorbidities we see and the number of sick folks undergoing procedures is a source of job security as I see it. I also think that the perception is changing and that the severity of American's health is being recognized. I feel a different sense of appreciation even from surgeons and proceduralists about the health of our patients.