Kill me, I want to die

ALICIA BABAEE 06-12-2006
A mother who had keyhole surgery survived only 34 hours after being discharged from hospital despite telling nurses she was in so much pain she wanted to die.
An inquest yesterday heard how the surgery to help Aireen Andrew, 39, of Bishopstone, Bradville conceive left her with an undetected injury to her bowel. Following the operation to remove adhesions from her abdomen at Milton Keynes Hospital on June 28, she told nurses on the recovery ward: Kill me, I want to die, but I cant, I have a young child. But they gave Mrs Andrew, a food packager from Sri Lanka, painkillers and sent her home the next day saying the pain was to be expected.
Post-operative patients dont have to be seen by a doctor if nurses dont believe it necessary. When the pain had not subsided by the next evening her family took her to their GP who called an ambulance. At the inquest GP Dr Mahendran, said: Ive never seen anyone so ill in my surgery in 17 years. It was later discovered heat from the tool used in surgery had travelled through internal tissue and perforated her bowel.
Doctors said it would have been impossible to have known this as they performed the operation. When she got to hospital, Mrs Andrew had already gone into septicemic shock. An emergency operation was performed but that night she suffered multiple organ failure, went into cardiac arrest and died. Her husband Anthony Andrew claimed he was never told of the one per cent risk of internal injury from the procedure.
He said they did not receive a leaflet about the operation. Even if they had, the advice for postoperative concerns was to contact your GP. Mr Andrew said: Aireen was a friendly, dynamic person. We have a six year old daughter, and she did everything for her and in the running of the home. Our daughter is coping with great difficulty. She has the support of the family but we are concerned for her future.
Deputy coroner Tom Osbourne, returning a narrative verdict, said: This is a very tragic case. A really young woman goes into hospital for a relatively simple operation and dies within a short space of time. He recommended the hospital revamps its literature and offers it in different languages. Hospital spokesman Ray Barrowdale said: We would like to extend our sympathy. The possibility of bowel injury is a widely recognised complication after the surgery Mrs Andrews had. Prior to discharge the patient displayed no signs which would have led clinicians to believe a complication had occurred. We are looking to see what lessons can be learnt.
Courtesy Milton Keynes Times from Lankaeverything.com :
http://www.lankaeverything.com/vinews/srilanka/20061206090611.php