FTA: “A routine tonsillectomy gone wrong.”
Usually, I’m in full agreement with Michelle. In this instance, she proceeds to write an article based on a flimsy and medically imprecise statement that does not cover the actual procedure. The child had sleep apnea and was having her entire nasal and throat passage re-formed in order to accommodate her weight issues (see photo in another post.) This is way more involved than “a routine tonsillectomy.”
“Doug Straus said this case is not about a “routine” tonsillectomy. He said the surgery was complicated from the beginning, as three procedures were being done simultaneously. The three surgeries, according to court documents, were: an adenotonsillectomy; a uvulopalatopharyngloplasty, or UPPP, which is tissue removal in the throat; and submucous resection of bilateral inferior turbinates, which is nasal obstruction.” (deviated septum, i.e. nasal surgery.)
http://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/local/Judge-Orders-Oakland-Hospital-to-Keep-Jahi-McMath-on-Life-Support-236808851.html
She evidently had very severe obstructive sleep apnea which was confirmed by a sleep study performed prior to the surgery. She didn’t just have a little trouble sleeping and snored a bit too loudly but would stop breathing all together several times during the night and that cause her not only her to feel lethargic, but also according to what I’ve read caused her to have other problems like not being able to concentrate at school, mood swings and even wetting herself- urinary incontinence is not uncommon in people with severe sleep apnea. And while people who are overweight are more prone to sleep apnea, untreated sleep apnea increases the risk obesity and makes it harder to lose weight gained and also increases the risk of high blood pressure, heart attack, stroke, diabetes and makes heart arrhythmias more likely. Acid reflux is also often a result of sleep apnea. Sleep apnea can be for some people a very serious condition that left untreated, can lead to serious and potentially fatal complications even without surgery. And who knows what conditions this poor girl had other than sleep apnea.
http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/health-topics/topics/sleepapnea/
http://www.webmd.com/sleep-disorders/sleep-apnea/sleep-apnea
This was not at all a routine or minor surgery. Then again, no surgery is simple or routine and without risks.
That’s the first I’ve heard that she had sleep apnea.....actually I have NEVER heard ANY DETAILS about what happened.