Surgery
Though relatively uncommon as compared to coronary deaths, natural causes, and even automobile accident fatalities, surgery deaths are particularly interesting in the many root causes that they can have, and for that matter the many end results that the category comprises. I created this section specifically for the documentation of these cases: whether they occurred during the surgery itself or while the victim was recovering, since these types of deaths do not really fit into any other category. Additionally, I will be documenting what the particular conditions meant, and I ask others who edit this page to do the same. For an example, see the case below where a hydrocele condition is described in more detail. I have found Wikipedia especially well-suited for conducting this research.
It appears from the case files encountered that a significant number of operational deaths occurred before the patient even underwent the surgery, particularly when chloroform was used. While this substance was favored among doctors for its ability to depress the central nervous system and thus induce consciousness, it was quickly abandoned by doctors only a short time after it came into fashion when it was discovered that the substance had a tendency to induce cardiac arrhythmia and had a high mortality rate. It appears that in the case of Allegheny County hospitals, it was adopted as a primary component of anethesia by at least the time of the earliest case files that are in our care, as is seen below.
From the old "Accidental Surgery Deaths" page:
We have found a number of deaths related to anesthesia prior to the 1940s. Some were for mistaken identity of different types of medicines, that when mixed create anesthesia or outdated practices of using cocaine as an anesthetic. In either case people died while receiving routine procedures such as tooth extraction, facial surgery, and tonsillectomies.
1894
A Sharpsburg labor boss died while being operated on for piles (hemorrhoids) and a fistula, which according to Wikipedia is an abnormal connection between two organs that normally do not have one. There is nothing in the file that indicates which two organs were abnormally connected. According to doctors, the man's heart stopped beating during surgery, after an initial anesthetic of chloroform, alcohol, and ether was administered, followed by regular anesthesia.
Interestingly enough, there are notations in two parts of the file, presumably directed at the jury in charge of the inquest, to exonerate the doctors from any criminal charges as the coroner had ruled the death accidental. I cannot help but think that this was noted due to the man's position as a labor boss, and the significant labor-management tensions at the time, which might have been an impetus behind any suspicions of foul play regarding the man's death. 189407_448.
In the same year, a 34-year-old man died while doctors were administering a chloroform anesthesia, prior to a planned knee surgery. In contrast with the above case, there is no statement regarding the exoneration of the doctors involved, which offers further proof that the statement on that case was due to the man's position as a labor boss. The man in this case was in the stone construction business. 189407_449
Both: MWB 07 Apr 2008
This death occurred at Shady Side Hospital, when the patient was under anesthesia. The patient went into circulatory failure due to pentothal sodium anesthesia during cystoscopy,a test that allows your doctor to look at the inside of the bladder and the urethra using a thin, lighted instrument called a cystoscope. This procedure looks for small bladder stones.
source: http://www.webmd.com/a-to-z-guides/cystoscopy-16692
1950
A little six year old boy died even before his opperation in January of 1950. He was in the "Ear and Eye Hospital" of Pittsburgh to have an operation to have a tonsillectomy, but he asphyxiated when they gave him ether anesthetic before his operation. 195002-013
AFS 23 May 2008
1961
In January of this year, a man died of a coronary occlusion which resulted from a hernia and hydrocele (misspelled as hydrocell in case file) surgery. A hydrocele condition is the result of a buildup of fluid in the scrotum, and can result from a hernia, as this one most likely did. As expected, the man was fairly old, being in his late 60s but it still seems unusual since the surgery was not on a technically vital organ. Additionally, it is worth noting that the man died in the recovery room. 196101_07
In the same month, a middle-aged woman died on the operating table from hemorrhage resulting from surgery on a duodenal ulcer. A duodenal ulcer is one located in the first part of the small intestine, also known as the duodenum. 196101_14
Both: MWB 18 Feb 2008
In February, a man died from "Anoxia due to Pentothal Induction to Anesthesia preparatory to surgery." The surgery in question was a "radical neck dissection" for cancer on the base of his tongue. The cause of death resulted from a developed respiratory obstruction of some sort after Sodium-Pentothal, a general anesthetic, as administered immediately prior to his surgery. According to the letter furnished by the doctor who was administering the anesthetic, several different procedures were attempted to alleviate the obstruction, but they ultimately failed. 196102_213
MWB 21 Feb 2008
1962
A 68-year-old man died of post-operative shock following surgery for acute pancreatitis. 196203_129
A 45-year-old black man died of cardiac arrest during hip replacement surgery. 196206_97
A 62-year-old black man diesdof cardiac arrest following severe toxemia due to post-operative shock. He had several surgeries in the past and it looked as though he would survive this one, right up until they began to close the skin. At this point he began going into cardiac arrest. The doctors did all they could to restore a heartbeat, but all their methods failed. 196207_131
All: AP 29 Feb 2008
1963
A 68-year-old man died of shock and hemorrhage following a ruptured abdominal aneurism during surgery. Oddly enough, there did not appear to be a note of any kind from the surgeon involved. 196307_222
In November of this year, a 55-year-old McKeesport woman died following surgery for mitral insufficiency and aortic stenosis. The mitral valve is in the left heart. According to MedicineNet.com, Mitral Insufficiency is an "incomplete closure of the mitral valve resulting in the backflow of blood from the left ventricle to the left atrium of the heart." Likewise, aortic stenosis is a valvular heart disease caused by the incomplete opening of the aortic valve. So in other words, the woman most likely had a weak heart; the official cause of death is listed as post-operative shock. 196311_81
In the same month another woman died during surgery due to a similar problem with her heart's mitral valve. In this surgery however, doctors were in the process of replacing the valve with a new one when she passed away. Sadly, the woman was only 41 years of age when this occurred. 196311_113
Again in November, an infant boy diagnosed with a congenital heart condition died from cardiac arrest during heart surgery at Children's Hospital in Pittsburgh. While congenital disorders, defects, etc. may range from trivial to life-threatening, it is apparent that the boy's condition was quite serious for doctors to have decided on surgery at such a young age. 196311_166
Finally in this month, a 65-year-old diabetic woman died during surgery on a sudden outbreak of gangrene on her right lower extremity (leg), after previously having her left leg amputated above the knee. An amputation was started on the right extremity under local anethesia when she suddenly passed away. A autopsy showed the likely causes to be a host of arterial and pulmonary disorders, as well as the aforementioned gangrenous tissue. 196311_175
All: MWB 06 Mar 2008
In September a man died following surgery to have an aortic valve replaced. The official cause of death was listed as hypovolemic shock, which is a state of decreased blood plasma volume.
MWB 07 Mar 2008
1964
An infant girl went into cardiac arrest during heart surgey in December of this year. 196412_129
In the same month, another infant girl went into cardiac arrest during surgery for dextrocardia, which is a condition where the heart is located on the right side of the body. According to Wikipedia, this condition is not normally life-threatening, but in this instance the doctors must have judged the situation to be so, hence the decision to operate on the girl at such a young age. Mention is also made of heart disease in a form titled "To the Coroner." 196412_180
Both: MWB 13 Mar 2008
1965
An 8-year-old boy died of cardiac failure due to ventricular fibrillation following open heart surgery. He had had congestive heart failure and heart problems since birth. 196509_231
LB 24 Mar 2008
1971
A 60-year-old North Charleroi man died during a surgery to repair a ruptured abdominal aneurysm at what is now UPMC Presbyterian. Offical cause of death is listed as ruptured aortic aneurysm, and generalized arteriosclerosis, or hardening of the arteries. 197102_19.
In the same month, a 38-year-old Dormont man died during in post-op of a heart attack and atherosclerosis after receiving a Vineberg Procedure. According to an abstract from a Texas Heart Institue Journal article on the same, it is a procedure developed by Canadian surgeon Arthur Vineberg that involved "direct implantation of the internal mammary artery into the left ventricle for the relief of myocardial ischemia." Myocardial ischemia is a disease whose main symptom is a reduced supply of blood to the heart muscle, and is due to atherosclerosis, which itself is a general inflammaton of the arteries, according to Wikipedia. Also it is stated that the procedure was performed successfully on thousands of patients during this time period until supplanted by arterial bypass grafting (bypass surgery). Like all heart surgeries however, it carried a great deal of risk, as the case of this particular individual makes quite clear. 197102_45
A 60-year-old Beltzhoover woman also died in post-op, as well as post-raditation (chemotherapy) after undergoing a laryngectomy procedure for the larynx (throat) cancer that she had. In addition to the obvious removal of the larynx, the procedure also involves the separation of the airway from the mouth, nose, and esophagus. The end result of this surgery is of course a nickel-sized hole in the woman's throat, and most likely the installation of an electrolarynx for talking and breathing. It is worth noting that nowadays this procedure is performed only in very serious cases of laryngeal cancer despite being somewhat more common earlier. Naturally, there is little doubt that this woman was a heavy smoker and it evidently got the better of her. 197102_117
All: MWB 24 Mar 2008
A 9-month-old Lanse girl died when she went into cardiac arrest following a pulmonary banding procedure. According to www.emedicine.com, pulmonary banding is "a technique of palliative surgical therapy used by congenital heart surgeons as a staged approach to operative correction of congenital heart defects. This technique was widely used in the past as an initial surgical intervention for children born with cardiac defects characterized by left-to-right shunting and pulmonary overcirculation." 197106_271
MWB 26 Mar 2008
A 20-year-old Duquesne University student died of a post-operative site fracure of the fifth cervical vertibrae and bilateral hydro-hemothorax. He received a severe injury while playing football at Three Rivers Satdium for Duquesne that made him a quadrapeligic. The files do not specify why the young man underwent this surgery.
LB 27 Mar 2008
1972
A 51-year-old Castle Shannon man died in post-op at Mercy Hospital from a heart attack due to arteriosclerotic heart disease, after having an anterior colon resection. According to Wikipedia, this surgery is a common procedure when one has rectal cancer.
MWB 27 Mar 2008
An 18-month-old Canonsburg boy died of pulmonary edema, due to pulmonary hypertension during surgery at Children's Hospital. According to the official report to the coroner, the boy had a ventricular septal defect, pulmonary hypertension, and myocardiopathy. Also, the boy had had several episodes of cyanosis in the past, requiring mouth to mouth resuscitation. According to Wikipedia, cyanosis is "a blue coloration of the skin and mucous membranes due to the presence of deoxygenated hemoglobin in blood vessels near the skin surface. It occurs when the oxygen saturation of arterial blood falls below 85-90%." 197209_04
A 73-year-old East Liberty woman died in post-op of peritonitis, marked to resection of cecum and terminal ileum. Peritonitis is an "inflammation of the peritoneum (the serous membrane which lines part of the abdominal cavity and some of the viscera it contains)." The cecum is the beginning of the large intestine and is responsible for breaking down organic matter such as plants. The ileum on the other hand is the end of the small intestine, and is responsible for breaking down the vitamin B12, bile salts, and anything else that was not broken down by previous organs in the small intestine. Source: Wikipedia. 1972102_49
A 62-year-old Shadyside man died following a radial neck resection that was performed due to tonsil cancer, with metastasis to the neck nodes. After being diagnosed with the cancer, he had undergone radiation therapy and a composite resection of tonsil fossa, floor of mouth, partial glossectomy (removal of the tongue) and mandibulotomy (a splitting of the lower lip and jaw), and radial neck dissection. The resectioning that is mentioned above as the cause of death was performed after all of the previously-mentioned surgeries. Offical cause of death is listed as bronchopneumonia and possible septicemia. Septicemia is one type of a serious medical condition called sepsis, in which the entire body becomes inflamed due to infection, and is the number one cause of death in non-coronary patients. 197211_69
All: MWB 31 Mar 2008
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