Two children who had tonsil and adenoid surgery immediately after being released from a Canadian hospital have died, officials announced last week, prompting the hospital to pause planned operations for kids under the age of 18.
Both patients were treated at McMaster Children’s Hospital in Hamilton, Ontario, according to a statement released by Hamilton Health Sciences on June 7. following surgery, one child died the day following, while the other child died nine days later.
May and June saw the deaths of the two.
The hospital’s chief of pediatric surgery, Dr. Devin Peterson, stated that the reason for the suspension was extreme caution and that hospital administrators were “deeply saddened” by the fatalities.
The deaths don’t seem to be related, according to the officials. It is unknown what caused the deaths of both patients.
According to the Canadian Society of Otolaryngology, a tonsillectomy is regarded as a significant procedure.
“The main risk is bleeding, which can be serious. About 5% of patients bleed after surgery (and might need to return to the operating room to have the bleeding stopped),” as per the hospital stated.
According to the report, bleeding usually happens seven to ten days following surgery, although it can sometimes happen as late as 17 days later.
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The hospital reported that 584 pediatric tonsillectomy with adenoid surgery or tonsillectomy alone were conducted there last year.
About 5.8% of patients returned to the emergency room, which is in line with the Canadian Society of Otolaryngology’s predicted rate.
“Patient safety is the most important priority at our hospital and we will only resume scheduled surgeries once the review is complete,” the hospital stated. “We recognize that this is a difficult message for our patients and families.”
