A 27-month-old girl who suffered cardiac arrest while undergoing general anesthesia at an ophthalmology hospital in Ulsan has died 11 days after the incident. Police are continuing their investigation to determine whether medical negligence occurred.
On October 16, the Ulsan Central Police Station reported that the girl, referred to as A, passed away on the afternoon of October 13 after receiving treatment at the hospital following the incident earlier this month.
According to Yonhap News Agency, A was undergoing treatment for entropion, a condition where eyelashes grow inward and irritate the cornea, at an ophthalmology hospital in Jung-gu, Ulsan, when she went into cardiac arrest on October 2 while under general anesthesia.
Initially, the anesthesiologist suspected bronchospasm as the cause of the breathing difficulties. However, after a day, the anesthesiologist acknowledged a mistake in connecting the equipment and retracted their initial statement. A's guardians reported that the anesthesiologist admitted to forgetting to test the equipment before the surgery, which led to the oxygen supply being improperly connected, and expressed full responsibility and apologized.
Following the cardiac arrest, A received emergency treatment at a nearby hospital and regained her heartbeat but did not regain consciousness. She was subsequently transferred to a university hospital in another region for further treatment.
In light of A's death, police have changed the charges against three individuals, including the hospital director, anesthesiologist, and the surgeon, from negligent injury to negligent homicide. An autopsy was conducted the day before to determine the exact cause of death, and police have seized evidence related to the surgery from the hospital.
A's mother recently shared the news of her daughter's death on social media, stating, "I want to know if this was an accident that could have been prevented, and if it could have been prevented, why it was not." She called for a thorough investigation into the circumstances surrounding the incident.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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