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.
Look at all those manuals! Great, Swell, Okay, Iffy, and Not-so-hot!
Root Canal.
LOL! Actually, he retired.
>>I wouldn’t be too hard on this patient for what she went thru..thats all I’m saying.<<
All she went through?
She’s looking for millions. Can we say “victim complex”?
I’ve had the surgery she had. I’ve had worse. Hysterectomy last year, C-Section, root canal, should I go on?
This chick had no permanent damage. It isn’t worth millions. Period.
Honestly, after 42 hours in an elevator, it would probably take some cash to calm me down.
True but I would say $20,000 to her is a realistic judgment but only if a few other things happen. The Medical Board should fine the dentist himself about as much and require the Dentist and licensed employee's working at that time to undergo a refresher training on this matter. That would not close the practice but would teach a lesson. Putting someone under requires trust and caution. A person has a reasonable right to assume the persons doing so will act in a responsible manner including room checks.
This sounds like the opening scene in “28 Days Later”. The lady is just lucky the world wasn’t overrun by a cannibal zombie virus while she was sedated.
As for the Dentist and licensed employees, truly they are not the one's who watch patients come out of anesthesia. Some minimum wage paid aide does. That is everywhere. Even in hospital recovery rooms. One nurse, many aids. The screw up came with the lesser employees who should be fired.
***For the first 30 years of my life, I went to a dentist that didn’t use novacaine for ANYTHING, including fillings!
Then he retired, and I finally found out how much less unpleasant the whole experience could be.
It makes me cringe just thinking about it.***
Must have been my dentist when I was a child. No one in the family ever needed dental care except for teeth cleaning. So when I had a cavity, and complained of the pain, I was told I was being a baby. Same thing when I had two root canals without any pain killer. This went on until I was old enough to choose my own dentist. BUT WAIT...there’s more to the story.
Many years later my parents moved, and the same dentist was in their new neighborhood. When my mother went to him, she asked why he had moved his office. He told her that he had been down to two patients, his brother and his best friend. It was his friend who finally told him that he was causing unnecessary pain and that’s why he lost all his patients.
My mother said that he’d become as gentle as a lamb.
In a dental office most all are licensed just as in a nursing home or hospital. Either licensed or certified by the state. In a dental office it would be the Dental Technicans. They do everything from assisting the doctor in fillings, taking denture impressions, to scheduling and answering the phone. You just don't walk into a dental office and begin working around patients. It requires training and passing a written certification. In other words they all knew better.
***Barring the above circumstance, I’m sure I would not fear being locked in a clinic for 40 minutes. I would be mad, yes.***
No reason for her to be locked there for 40 minutes. She should have picked up the phone immediately and called 911.
Now, why didn't I think of that? LOL!
Honestly, the dental techs are working with patients chairside. They are not the ones watching patients come out.
My niece is a dental assistant. They are chairside. Maybe it’s state by state but speaking from my medical history, please don’t think that you have a nurse watching you in recovery. There is a nurse at station in the room but aides watch the patients individually.
>>No reason for her to be locked there for 40 minutes. She should have picked up the phone immediately and called 911.<<
Thank you!
This whole crying until she threw up crap is the stuff kids do. Adults get up and make a call. She might have even had a cell phone on her.
The good news is they probably didnt swipe her credit card either.....
My daughter is a dental assistant as well and certified as are all her co-workers. She does all the task I mentioned before. When I call where she works there is a good chance she answers the phone. Next minute she may be with a patient. Next minute may be billing. The CDA and the doctor are responsible for making certain all patients are accounted for and should check chairs and rooms before closing.
Like I said, maybe it’s state to state. Your daughter must work in a relatively small office.
Where this woman was at, it seems to be a clinic.
I suspect she would have been groggy and unable to think clearly. I've been knocked out for a few procedures before and it usually takes me at least an hour before I regain normal function.
She wasn't left under anesthesia, she was left in the recovery room after the procedure was done.
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