DEATH UNDER AN ANAESTHETIC.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 16668, 13 April 1916, Page 9

DEATH UNDER AN ANAESTHETIC.

A CASE OF MISADVENTURE. Tho Coroner (Air Widdowson, S.M.) hold an inquest yesterday atternoon on tho body of William Jackson, who diod at tho Hospital on Tuesday afternoon, whilo undergoing an operation. After the ansesthetio had been administered tho dooeastd collapsed, and all efforts at resuscitation failed. Hary Ellen M'Connell, a sistor of tho. deceased, said he was a sawmill hand, and lived at Kahuika. Ho was a single mail, 42 years of ago. He canie to Dunixlin from JKahiiika on April 3, und stayed with witness at Port Chalmers that night. He was suffering- from a bad kn«o. Apart from tho allcction of tho knoe deceased •was a strong man. Deceased consulted i)r HodgeS; who advised him to go into the Hospital. Deceased thought that an operation would have* to be performed on his knee. Witness only saw her brother two or three times a year. She did not know whether ho drank to excess. He took a httle drink. Dr Gibson said the deceased was admitted into the Hospital on April 5. He was suffering from synovitis with apparently a loose body. Witness thought it was a case for an operation, and informed Dr Batchelor to that effect. Dr Batchelor decided that an operation was necessary. Witness noticed a smell of alcohol on the deceased when he wns first admitted. Deceased, however, was quite sober. Deceased was apparently a strong man. Witnose saw that ho was prepared ,for the operation on tho Wednesday. Witness assisted Dr Batchelor at the operation. Witness and Drs Batchelor and Dowling took part in the attempt to resuscitate tho deceased. To S"iiior-serg*ant Dart-: By external examination witness considered that the patient was a fit subject for an anaesthetic. He did not particularly examine him for that purpose. Dr Batchelor said he first saw deceased on Thursday, April 6. Deceased had a loose body in his knee joint, which he said was the result of an accident. It was nßcessary to operate. Deceased appeared to be a perfectly healthy man. Dr Dowling administred tho anaesthetic. Deceased 'was th«m taken into tho theatre and placed on the operation table. Witness then heard Dr Dowling eay that deceased was not breathing, and ho went to his assistance. This wm before the operation had been comnxoced. They did everything they could to bring deceased round, but without avail. Deceased struggled when being put under the ansesthetic in tho room set apart for that purpose. He- considered it was more difficult, to ' get a patient under tho anaesthetic when he struggled. Dr Dowling said she first saw deceased on the ansesthetic table. . Witness examined the deceased's heart and lungs, and decided that he was a fit subject for an antithetic. So far as an external examination would ehow the deceased's heart was quite normal. His appearance rather suggested to witness that he might be alcoholic When a man was alcoholic it was more difficult. Deceased was a very strong man. Witness proceeded to give the anaesthetic, and used chloroform, which the deceased did not take well, being inclined to hold his breath. Witness then substituted ether Tho deceased struggled pretty violently while he was going under. After he was lifted on to the operating table witness noticed that he had stopped breathing. Witness at once calkd Dr Batchelor's attention to tho fact, and artificial respiration was commenced. Witness had been giving anaesthetics regularly 6ince she went to the last September. To Senior-sergeant Dart: The deceased was breathing up till tie time he was placed on the operating table. Deceased stopped breathing suddenly. After he ceased struggling the deceased was normal. Witness did not give tho deceased more gas because he struggled. She usually gave them less when they struggled. ' The fact of the patient struggling made witness more careful Witness was with him all the time. To Dr Roberts: The deceased did not require more than the usual amount of anaesthetics. Senior-Sergeant Dart: What do you call an alcoholic? Do you mean a man who drinks to excess, or, what may be termed a moderate drinker? Witness replied that an alcohlic was one who had well soaked all the tissues of his body in alcohoL A person who drank at all impaired hie constitution. Continuing, witness said she was present at the post mortem examination " She came to the conclusion that the deceased was an alcoholic Dr Roberts, said he iad: made a post mortem examination of the body. The deoeased was a muscular, well developed, nourished man. All the organs were normal, with the exception of the brain membranes and the heart. Th?. brain membranes wer-e in marked condition of oedema, a condition which was characteristic of alcoholism, and which in itself was sometimes the cause of, death, The heart was flabby • and ' relaxed, but otherwise r.ormaL This was indicative of loss of tone of the heart muscles. The cause of death was ajisesthetic poisoning, predisposed to by deceased's brain condition and his struggling. Witness was quite, satisfied that the anasthetio had been administered in a perfectly correct manner, and that every attempt was made to resuscitate the deceased. . , , , To Senior-sergeant Dart: With the knowledge gained at the post mortem examination, witness was riot surprised at tho collapse. Strong men who were alcoholics took anaesthetics worse than weak people. Dr Dowling could jiot have -discovered tho condition of the deceased from an external examination. The Coroner: Then this, m your opinion, was a case of pnro misadventure?— Yes. The Coroner said that it' appeared; from ihe evidence of Dr Roberts that this was ,a case of misadventure. It was clearly shown that Dr Dowling could not detect anything wrong with the deceased, seeing that the seat of thr trouble was in the brain. Ho was glntl to say thai thorn was no cause of complaint so far as Dr Dowling was concerned. His verd'et would bo that deceased diod from anaesthetic poisoning predisposed to by oedema of the brain.