Community Chat

[evelomaddict]

my gosh, the face of an angel.

A 17-year-old girl in Minnesota suffered cardiac arrest during what should have been a routine dental procedure.

Sydney Galleger was having her wisdom teeth pulled last week when something went terribly wrong. "All went good until the very end when her blood pressure shot up and her pulse dropped and then she went into cardiac arrest," her mother, Diane Galleger, wrote on the CaringBridge web page the family set up to post updates on her condition. She said the doctor quickly started CPR and called 911, then Sydney "was immediately rushed to the hospital where more doctors and nurses than I could even count, started working on her."

Sydney was stabilized and transferred to the University of Minnesota Masonic Children's Hospital, but her condition took a turn for the worse. The family says she suffered seizures and was put on a ventilator to help her breathe.

Two days after her dental appointment, Sydney's brain was swelling dangerously and she was taken into surgery to have a drain put into her skull to reduce the pressure. Unfortunately, it did not help; the swelling in her brain continued and cut off the drain. Doctors told the family there was nothing more they could do.

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/teenager-suffers-cardiac-arrest-during-dental-procedure/

[Charming1]

OMG, how sad...what a shame. 

[Jolexi]

OMG...how awful! 

[9244]

This  is a terrible shame but, this is exactly why it says it is a possibility on each and every OR permit that is signed. Because it is always a possibility.

[Mominohio]

This is so very tragic. I had four wisdom teeth extracted at about 23 years old, and more than two decades later, my then 11 year old son had to have the same. I worried about him so much, and was shocked to find out the procedures, and the recovery hadn't advanced any at all in that time. I truly expected, when we started his process, that there had been advancements in the procedure, but at least with the doctors in our are, there had not.

This has to be such a shock and heartache for this family. So very very sad.

[brii]

That's so sad.

I'm sure that crosses the mind of every parent who takes their teen in to have dental work like that. 

[missy1]

Taking wisdom teeth out is not a simple surgery. 

[Stray]

It is tragic....maybe the girl never had anesthesia, a particular drug and had a reaction. Also, being a healthy girl, most likely, an undiagnosed heart problem. It is very tragic but something that can happen whenever a procedure is done and is always noted on a consent form. You never know and no procedure no matter how small is without risk. One must feel sorry for the dentist and staff as well; it doesn't appear to be negligence and they acted correctly it seems.

[hopi]

Dental work is not routine. It is very invasive and they use all kinds of drugs. Hopefully this puts focus on these issues.

[Kalli]

So sad.   I, too, wonder if she had an underlying condition.  

I had my wisdom teeth extracted in the dentist's office during 2 separate appointments.  The roots were straight and he slipped them out with only novacaine and I'm a BIG baby when it comes to the dentist.