Ontario children’s hospital halts tonsil, adenoid surgeries after 2 patient deaths
A children’s hospital in Hamilton says it has paused tonsil and adenoid surgical procedures after two patient deaths in the last month.
McMaster Children’s Hospital (MCH) says it is going through a comprehensive review of the department’s program “out of an abundance of caution” after reporting that a pair of patients died following discharge from tonsil and adenoid-related surgeries.
“One child passed away the day after their surgery, and the second child passed away nine days after their initial surgery,” Hamilton Health Sciences (HHS) spokesperson Wendy Stewart said.
“We want to express our deepest condolences to these families.”
Stewart says the first death was in May and the other in early June.
MCH can’t confirm any “apparent connection” between the two cases but as of Tuesday paused scheduled tonsil and adenoid surgical procedures for patients under the age of 18 “until a comprehensive review of the program can be completed.”
The outlet is in the process of informing patients and families that scheduled care or surgeries will be affected, according to Stewart.
Ontario Minister of Health Sylvia Jones said parents should be able to hear the results of the review “directly from the hospitals” in Hamilton.
“It just happened,” she told Global News. “I know that McMaster paused any further surgeries and I leave it to McMaster to comment on anything more specific.”
Ontario Liberal MPP Adil Shamji, who is also a doctor and the party’s health critic, said he felt the hospital was best placed to lead the work.
“I think it’s an important step to allow the hospital to conduct its own investigation first,” he said Wednesday.
“And then I think there’s absolutely a role for the Minister of Health — from a quality assurance
Read more on globalnews.ca
