Lap mirror 21-year-old woman dies after routine surgery

21-year-old woman dies after routine surgery
In the Baden-Württemberg Filderstadt a 21-year-old woman died a few days after a routine operation. There had been serious complications during the procedure. The prosecution is now investigating a possible treatment error.

Young woman dies after laparoscopy
At the weekend, a 21-year-old patient died in Baden-Württemberg a few days after a routine operation. The young woman had come to Stuttgart with a stomachache in the Filderstadt in Filderstadt (circle Esslingen) and had to be operated on the same day. The physicians performed a laparoscopy, a minimally invasive procedure. During this operation, however, there were serious complications. It is said that a pelvic vein was accidentally hit and injured when inserting a probe.

Complications of routine intervention
As a result, the patient lost a great deal of blood and as a result suffered "severe irreversible brain damage," according to the clinic. The young woman fell into a coma and died five days later. It was reported that the hospital was committed to maximum transparency and full disclosure of the incident. According to a report by the news agency dpa, an expert's report, which was ordered by the public prosecutor's office in Stuttgart, clarifies whether the treating physicians made mistakes during the operation on Tuesday last week. According to the authority, there are so far no indications of misconduct.

Autopsy of the corpse
An autopsy of the body revealed that "the woman had died of cardiovascular failure". The authorities expect "a result of the ordered opinion only in a few months". The Medical Association of Baden-Wuerttemberg did not provide information on deaths from surgical procedures. "Such cases are difficult to compare". If a patient is injured or otherwise harmed by medical treatment, prosecutors initially need a police report to investigate. This is different for interventions with fatal consequences. "Every unnatural death is checked." But a prerequisite is a reasonable initial suspicion that someone could be guilty of death.

Educate patients about treatment and risks
Before an operation such as a laparoscopy, patients have to be informed about the treatment and the risks and their consent has to be obtained, said the President of the State Medical Association, Ulrich Clever. "Otherwise, it is bodily harm." Although the method carries certain risks, serious complications, which could also lead to death, are extremely rare. Last year, the AOK's hospital report came to the conclusion that nearly 19,000 deaths occur nationwide every year due to treatment errors. The German Hospital Association (DKG) had reacted outraged and called the calculation frivolous. (Ad)

/ Span>

Image: Martin Jäger / pixelio.de