People who died as a result of Surgical Complications

Perioperative mortality

• is death in relation to surgery, often defined as death within two weeks of a surgical procedure.

Intraoperative causes

• Complications during surgery, e.g. bleeding or perforation of organs, sepsis, and failure of vital organs or pre-existing medical conditions may have lethal sequel.
• Mortality directly related to anesthetic management is less common, and may include such causes as pulmonary aspiration of gastric contents, asphyxiation and anaphylaxis. These in turn may result from malfunction of anesthesia-related equipment or more commonly, human error. A 1978 study found that 82% of preventable anesthesia mishaps were the result of human error.There can also be respiratory and anesthesia related complications.

Complications following surgery

• 1. Infection
• 2. Blood clots: Examples are deep vein thrombosis and pulmonary embolism
• 3. Lungs: Defined as a postoperative pneumonia, respiratory failure, or the need for reintubation after extubation at the end of an anesthetic. Minor post-operative pulmonary complications include events such as atelectasis, bronchospasm, laryngospasm, and unanticipated need for supplemental oxygen therapy after the initial postoperative period.
• 4. Neurologic: Strokes occur at a higher rate during the postoperative period.
• 5. Postoperative fever: Postoperative fevers are a common complication after surgery and can be a hallmark of a serious underlying condition, such as pneumonia, urinary tract infection, deep vein thrombosis, wound infection, etc.

4 of the most common perioperative complications encountered by both general surgeons and surgical specialists:

1. Thrombosis;
2. Nutritional issues;
3. Cardiac problems; and
4. Infections.

The perioperative mortality rate (POMR) is used as an indicator of access to and safety of surgery and anesthesia. POMR should be measured at two time periods: death on the day of surgery and death before discharge from hospital or within 30 days of the procedure, whichever is sooner. The rate should be expressed as the number of deaths (numerator) over the number of procedures (denominator). The option of before-discharge or 30 days is practical for those low- to middle-income countries where postdischarge follow-up is likely to be incomplete, but it allows those that currently can report 30-day mortality rates to continue to do so. Clinical interpretation of POMR at a hospital or health service level will be facilitated by risk stratification using age, urgency (elective and emergency), procedure/procedure group, and the American Society of Anesthesiologists grade.

Even as patients' medical conditions have gotten more complex and surgeries more complicated, perioperative mortality (death from any cause within 48 hours after surgery) has significantly declined over the last 50 years, with the greatest improvement seen in developed countries vs developing countries, according to a global meta-analysis.

Notable People Dying in / from Surgery

• Famous People Who Died in Surgery 21 listed
  • 1. Doc Watson – (1923 – 2012) – Guitarist, songwriter, Musician, Singer. (Colon Surgery)
  • 2. Anthony Minghella – (1954 – 2008) – Film producer/director, Screenwriter, Playwright ((cancer in tonsils & neck)
  • 3. Haile Selassie – (1892 – 1975) – Ethiopian Politician. (Prostate surgery; ? if was assassinated)
  • 4. Kathryn Huhlman – (1907 – 1976) – Evangelist, Televangelist (Open heart surgery in 1974) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kathryn_Kuhlman
  • 5. Donald Olding Hebb - (1904 – 1985) Psychologist (heart failure during hip surgery)
  • 6. Bert Lytell – (1885 – 1954) – Actor
• Famous People Who Died of Surgical Complications 24 Listed
  • 1. Steve McQueen – (1930 – 1980) - Actor, Film Producer
  • 2. Rodney Dasngerfield – (1921 – 2004) – Comedian, Film Producer, Screenwriter, Actor, Voice Acting
  • 3. Andy Warhol – (1928 – 1987) – Sculptor, Illustrator, Painter, Film Producer, Screenwriter
  • 4. Myrna Loy – (1905 – 1993) - Actor, Dancer
  • 5.Lou Thesz – (1916 – 2002) - Wrestler - Complications from triple bypass (Wikipedia - Lou Thesz)
  • 6. Rod Serling – (1924 – 1975) – TV producer, Screenwriter, Actor, Playwright
• Death and Plastic Surgery

Additional Reading:

• Wikipedia - Perioperative mortality
• PubMed Commons - Perioperative mortality rate (POMR): a global indicator of access to safe surgery and anaesthesia.
• Perioperative Mortality Rates - by: Professor David A Watters, February 2015
• Medscape Multispecialty - Perioperative Deaths Dramatically Drop Around the Globe 20 Sept 2012
• Medscape Multispecialty - ACS 2006 - Evidence-Based Perioperative Risk Reduction
• ABC News - Death After Surgery May Be More Common Than We Think, By DR. CHANDANI PATEL
ABC NEWS MEDICAL UNIT, Sept. 21, 2012

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