Recently, a 3-year-old boy in Zhanjiang, Guangdong underwent a minimally invasive tonsil surgery at the affiliated hospital of Guangdong Medical University. The nurse stated that the surgery went smoothly, but the boy remained unconscious after the operation and was pronounced “brain dead” 10 days later. The family questioned the possibility of surgical errors.
On July 10th, a netizen, known as “Mother of Su Mingxuan,” posted on Weibo that on June 27th, her son Su Mingxuan underwent a tonsillectomy at the hospital in Zhanjiang. The pre-surgery examination showed no abnormalities in Su Mingxuan’s health.
The surgery began at 10:40 am that day, and according to the surgical record, it was supposed to end by 11:40 am. However, the boy was not moved out of the operating room until nearly five hours later, directly taken to the ICU for observation in a semi-conscious state. When questioned by the family, the nurse responded that everything was normal.
On the morning of June 28th, when the family went to the ICU to see the child, the hospital informed them to wait until the afternoon. Around 3 pm, the hospital suddenly said the child’s heart had stopped beating and was resuscitated for 8 minutes.
On June 29th, the family requested a transfer to another hospital, but the hospital stated that moving the child was risky due to his critical condition. Three days later, the hospital informed the family that the boy had dilated pupils, no response to light, and was clinically brain dead.
The family claimed that the doctors never informed them of the risk of brain death from the minimally invasive surgery. They demanded surveillance footage from the operating room and the anesthesia recovery room, but the hospital refused, citing “missing or covered monitors.”
“Mother of Su Mingxuan” questioned why Su Mingxuan, who was previously healthy and had no brain issues, ended up brain dead. She raised concerns about potential surgical errors and the lack of notification about conservative treatment options versus surgery, as well as the missing critical monitoring.
She also provided surgical records from the hospital, indicating that the 3-year-old boy underwent a surgery to remove enlarged tonsils and adenoids.
On July 10th, the boy’s mother, Mrs. Li, told the Beijing News that in June, she took her child to the hospital for an examination, where doctors informed her that her child’s tonsils were 95% blocked and recommended surgical treatment.
Mrs. Li stated, “They kept emphasizing that it was a minor surgery, and this surgical technique was well-established, asking me to go through the process and sign the consent form. They made it sound very simple and did not explain the severity to me, so I agreed to sign.”
Mrs. Li believes that if the hospital had informed her immediately after the surgery that her child was doing well, they could have transferred him for further treatment earlier, preventing the current dire situation. She expressed that her child had been in a coma for half a month, and a miracle would be needed for recovery now.
In response to the incident, the staff at the affiliated hospital of Guangdong Medical University mentioned that they are handling the matter and will provide details after completing their investigation.
The health bureau of Xiashan District stated that they have received the family’s complaint and are investigating the issue.
The hospital responded to “Global News” by stating that the family was briefed on the risks of the surgery beforehand and recommended a medical evaluation to determine the cause.
On July 10th, the news of “3-year-old boy brain dead after tonsillectomy” trended on Weibo.
Sadly, this is not the first incident where a minor surgery resulted in brain death. On March 10th of this year, a 22-year-old woman from Shantou underwent a minimally invasive surgery for a blocked fallopian tube at the Second People’s Hospital of Guangdong Province. However, she suffered brain death due to a lack of oxygen for 30 minutes while waiting in the recovery room.
On August 6, 2024, a 10-year-old girl in Harbin, Heilongjiang Province passed away during a minimally invasive tonsil surgery at Beijing Children’s Hospital in Harbin affiliated with Capital Medical University due to enlarged tonsils.