Link: Slightly OT: High school football player dies during ACL surgery

This is in the town where I live. To add on to it the head athletic trainer for the school died a few days later in another surgery that wasn't expected to be life threatening. That high school is going through a terrible time right now. Medicince has gotten so good we almost forget that any time you are put under something terrible could happen.

RollTide1224 said:

This is in the town where I live. To add on to it the head athletic trainer for the school died a few days later in another surgery that wasn't expected to be life threatening. That high school is going through a terrible time right now. Medicince has gotten so good we almost forget that any time you are put under something terrible could happen.

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The most dangerous part of surgery is anesthesia. They don’t pay the anesthesiologist to put you under, the anesthesiologist is paid to bring you back.

I wonder how many people actually read the disclaimer you have to sign before a surgery? I read mine. Some of that stuff makes you not want to do the surgery at all.

My heart goes out to the families of the young man. I know all to well the feeling of losing a child, and to say it’s tough is a very gross understatement. In time it gets a little easier to cope, but it always sticks with you.

Anytime you get put under anesthesia, there is the potential for you to not wake back up. A few years ago I had a UGI endoscopy done. I thought it was awfully strange when I woke up that the doctor and several nurses were around me. Usually one nurse is monitoring several patients in curtained off recovery bays, so I knew something had happened. They never went into great detail about what happened other than one nurse saying that I gave them a “little scare”. Afterwards I was thinking, gave YOU a scare?


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Thanks, Thanks a lot! I have knee surgery scheduled for Jan, 23rd. Already been postponed twice which is making me nervous! A surgery i have mixed emotions about having!

Terrible to hear about the kid, prayers to his parents!

I wouldn't be surprised if the kid had an unknown underlying condition of some sort. Terrible news, prayers up for his family.

runtheoption22 said:

https://www.foxnews.com/us/high-school-football-player-dies-during-acl-surgery

Just goes to show, all surgery is serious. As a dad, I can't even imagine...

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Glad I had my ACL surgery before reading this

spock* said:

The most dangerous part of surgery is anesthesia. They don’t pay the anesthesiologist to put you under, the anesthesiologist is paid to bring you back.

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I had my gall bladder removed last year. I had never had any sort of surgery before. Waking back up was the weirdest thing I have ever been through.

The young man died in surgery and the coach after a brief stay in hospital. That leads me to believe there were two very different causes of death.

TIDE-HSV said:

IF it were the Spartanburg Medical Center, the orthopedic ranking is mediocre. I've been put under so many time, I've lost count, probably a couple dozen...

USNews

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That explains a lot...LOL!

On a more serious note, I am deeply sorry for this family...what a tragedy. I tried to get the doctor to do my last knee scope with a block and not put me out...he really didn't want to do that. As a pastor and relative of several physicians, I can tell you horror stories of the effects of anesthesia gone wrong. There's a reason the anesthesiologists call propythol (sp?) "Michael Jackson juice."

Yeah Propofol is a very dangerous drug. It has a short half life. They use it in the ICU setting for patients on a vent and they do what they call daily sedation vacations to see if the patient can be weened off the vent. If not, they just crank it back up a little and off the person is to sleep again. I don’t want to know how long it took some of these patients to get over this drug being in their system for so long. We weren’t there in clinical long enough to see.

I don’t know what could have caused this death but I’d imagine it’d be something like a pre-existing condition that no one knew about. Prayers for that community.

Not been put under before, but a well known Son of a Well Known sports med guy here in Birmingham once told me that I should recover from my broken shoulder without surgery, but if I was a "real competing athlete", they would have done the surgery to get me back faster. I was flattered? He was right, and right again. Healed up without surgery in about 10-12 weeks.

Jessica4Bama said:

Yeah Propofol is a very dangerous drug. It has a short half life. They use it in the ICU setting for patients on a vent and they do what they call daily sedation vacations to see if the patient can be weened off the vent. If not, they just crank it back up a little and off the person is to sleep again. I don’t want to know how long it took some of these patients to get over this drug being in their system for so long. We weren’t there in clinical long enough to see.

I don’t know what could have caused this death but I’d imagine it’d be something like a pre-existing condition that no one knew about. Prayers for that community.

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Malignant hyperthermia is a real possibility and younger males are more at risk. It is somewhat rare (about 1:30k in children and 1:100k in adults) but deadly if not recognized and treated promptly (dantrolene primarily), but few other complications in ACL surgery would have you die on the table with proper intervention.

I didn't see what surgery the coach had and although MH is still possible if brief stay means about an hour after surgery, but anything from a blood clot to hemorrhage to heart attack or infection if enough time had passed are possibilities. The type of surgery and his history might point in a certain direction but anything other than an autopsy is speculation unless we have firsthand knowledge.

Propofol is great if used by qualified people in a safe environment for the right reasons (not so when given by MJ's doctor at his home). Recovery from the drug itself is pretty quick for most people. Whatever got them to ICU usually takes much longer.

These deaths are tragic and a reminder that while modern surgery is generally safe "no surgery is minor". I hope something can be learned to prevent it happening again.

NationalTitles17 said:

Malignant hyperthermia is a real possibility and younger males are more at risk. It is somewhat rare (about 1:30k in children and 1:100k in adults) but deadly if not recognized and treated promptly (dantrolene primarily), but few other complications in ACL surgery would have you die on the table with proper intervention.

I didn't see what surgery the coach had and although MH is still possible if brief stay means about an hour after surgery, but anything from a blood clot to hemorrhage to heart attack or infection if enough time had passed are possibilities. The type of surgery and his history might point in a certain direction but anything other than an autopsy is speculation unless we have firsthand knowledge.

Propofol is great if used by qualified people in a safe environment for the right reasons (not so when given by MJ's doctor at his home). Recovery from the drug itself is pretty quick for most people. Whatever got them to ICU usually takes much longer.

These deaths are tragic and a reminder that while modern surgery is generally safe "no surgery is minor". I hope something can be learned to prevent it happening again.

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Malignant Hypothermia is the worst nightmare of the anesthesiologist. Generally it is thought to be genetic but outside of males being slightly more predisposed, it is almost completely unpredictable.


Years ago I use to sell Datrium IV (dantrolene) which is the primary treatment for Malignant Hypothermia. Most hospitals were required to maintain a stock of 40-50 vials. It is reversible, but treatment must be aggressive and it is critical to get it started in the first 30 minutes of the onset as the body temp rises quickly and other major organ systems begin to be affected quickly.

Sad. Very sad indeed.

NationalTitles17 said:

Propofol is great if used by qualified people in a safe environment for the right reasons (not so when given by MJ's doctor at his home). Recovery from the drug itself is pretty quick for most people. Whatever got them to ICU usually takes much longer.

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I slept so well under this...I woke up and asked the attending nurse if I could be put back under again...I normally don't sleep well and this was incredible...