For those of you wondering how this could have happened, keep these facts in mind:
1.Nearly all medical training programs start on July 1.
2. Odds are that a brand new graduate in training was given the opportunity to insert the trocar (Long sharp pointy instrument used to introduce the laparoscope into the abdomen.)
3. Medical training programs typically run on the “Watch one, do one, teach one, “ method.
4. Used too much force and the trocar over-penetrated, piercing the abdominal aorta.
5. “Everything exploded and the blood began to spill” as the song says.
6. Even if an experienced surgeon was immediately available, a situation like this can get out of hand in a matter of seconds.
I wouldn’t be surprised if similar incidents happen all over the US in teaching hospitals in July and August. I know it happened in mine.
I’ve seen it happen with experienced surgeons learning a new surgical technique (endoscopic back surgery). Fortunately, the unfortunate patient that bled to death was a pig and not someone’s family member.