Posted on 04/22/2008 10:37:44 AM PDT by kingattax
Oral Surgery Goes Awry As Patient Given Anesthesia And Then Left In Building While Employees Lock Up And Leave---
BROOKLYN (CBS) For most, going in to get a wisdom tooth pulled is already a nightmare scenario. So imagine going in to get a wisdom tooth pulled, and then being locked inside the dental office and forgotten by the staff.
CBS 2 HD has learned a lot more about these shocking, real-life allegations.
Ramona Mercado says she was hysterical after waking up from general anesthesia all alone at the Oral Surgery and Implant Center in Williamsburg.
"Terrified, I was hyper ventilating," Mercado said. "I threw up a couple of times from over exhaustion of crying.
"No one in the office, everything was closed all the lights were off."
Mercado says from inside she called the service that referred her to this place, and they called 911 to get her out.
"The police officers came, they snipped the locks off," Mercado said. "They were the ones who opened up the door and let me out."
Mercado, a mother of two small children, says she was locked in the Oral Surgery Center for about 40 minutes and even saw her dental file left on the desk. She says the recovery room was a walk-in space with no door, so she can't understand how the staff didn't see her.
"I never got a chance to sign myself off to be discharged out, so I don't know if they were waiting for me to wake-up or they just forgot," she said. "I assume they really forgot, forgot about me."
She's now suing for medical malpractice. Her lawyer says even his colleagues find the story amazing.
"They thought it was so outrageous, they wouldn't even believe it, and unless I told them that the police had to come there and break the door down to get them out," John Kouroupas said.
"People now realize that something this crazy can happen to someone."
Needless to say, Mercado has soured on the whole surgery idea.
"I will not get anesthesia again," she said. "I don't care what procedure I have to go through, I just have to suffer through the pain."
CBS 2 HD contacted Mercado's doctor at the Oral Surgery and Implant Center for a comment, but received no response.
That was horrible. No water, no watch, no nothing.
I don’t think he sued, did he?
Yeah....sure you will! [/s]
Every dentist I have went to makes you have someone else there with you to drive you home after oral surgery. For not having that alone, they deserve this. They allowed her to have the procedure with nobody to get her home after and forget her?
That is exactly the kind of anesthetic they use for C-sections.
I kid you not!
I didn’t mean to make it sound that bad! I’ve had a very good dentist for years and he knows I’m touchy because I have never had a toothache. I grew up in Houston with natural flouride.
He says my teeth are like granite. Could be. I’m 56 and I have NO cavities. The one I had ended up with a root canal, so 0 cavities here.
If she woke up with all her organs somebody missed a terrific business opportunity...
Ditto, it is worth the extra money!!!!
>> Leaving her alone while under general anesthetic is worth millions. That is a potentially life threatening situation.<<
They probably got two minimum wage aides to keep an eye on her and the communications screwed up.
I don’t think they left her alone while UNDER but rather coming out of it. There is a difference and mostly, in hospitals it’s one nurse and many aids in the recovery room.
WOW, congrats on no cavities!!!
Really? That’s not what they used on my wife when she had hers two years ago. She got a spinal, I think, or some super-strong local, I’m not quite sure. She was conscious and “with it” through the entire procedure. Also, shivering uncontrollably and scared out of her mind (as was I). But they didn’t give her any sort of happy pill.
}:-)4
Actually you have to sign forms stating you will not drive and they want somebody with you afterwards
The elevator guy DID sue, I heard this morning on Fox and Friends. He got a settlement, not what he sued for, but a settlement. Several million, I think.
There maybe more “good times” ahead - just in different ways with socialized health care. If this happens ... it will be a nightmare.
Everytime I’ve seen a dentist put someone out or even the ‘twilight’ they are required to have a driver. Did this woman have a driver who left her? Did this woman sneak in? Did she hide so she could claim this and get paid?
Seems unlikely but there are some really bad dentists out there.
I don’t like needles in certain situations (like getting fillings and such), so about the time I was 12 or 13 I got my dentist to stop using novacaine just because I hated getting the shot in my mouth so much. Fortunately, I’ve managed to not get any cavities or such for the last several years.
Yep. Even the happy pills they give you for sedation dentistry will leave you totally unable to drive safely (see my #39 above). After a general, I’d probably be too busy heaving my guts to get home on my own.
}:-)4
It’s not just a matter of being a drama queen- leaving a patient under general anaesthesia unattended can kill. She was very lucky.
That is the 900 pound gorilla in this.
Mine awaken with all organs... not necessarily the ones they came in with....
Really???
I was pretty happy through mine! (loved the end result too, she’s next to me doing HS)
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