Unplugged freezer ruins precious body parts at Montreal hospital
QMI Agency
First posted: Tuesday, July 22, 2014 02:58 PM EDT | Updated: Tuesday, July 22, 2014 03:25 PM EDT
MONTREAL — Workers at a Montreal hospital inadvertently unplugged a freezer that stored a skull fragment, complicating a woman's reconstructive surgery.
Sylvie Alain had part of her skull removed on May 14 to reduce swelling after suffering a stroke. The piece of skull was put into a medical freezer for reinsertion at a later date.
Two days after the initial surgery, Alain said staff contacted her daughter to say the bone was no longer usable.
Maintenance employees at Notre-Dame hospital had disconnected the freezer, causing cooled tissue samples to plummet to room temperature.
Microbiologists at the Montreal hospital said re-inserting the bone could have caused an infection.
"They told her there was a problem with my bones, the freezer had thawed and my bone was lost," Alain told QMI Agency.
Unplugged freezer ruins precious body parts at Montreal hospital | Canada | News
QMI Agency
First posted: Tuesday, July 22, 2014 02:58 PM EDT | Updated: Tuesday, July 22, 2014 03:25 PM EDT
MONTREAL — Workers at a Montreal hospital inadvertently unplugged a freezer that stored a skull fragment, complicating a woman's reconstructive surgery.
Sylvie Alain had part of her skull removed on May 14 to reduce swelling after suffering a stroke. The piece of skull was put into a medical freezer for reinsertion at a later date.
Two days after the initial surgery, Alain said staff contacted her daughter to say the bone was no longer usable.
Maintenance employees at Notre-Dame hospital had disconnected the freezer, causing cooled tissue samples to plummet to room temperature.
Microbiologists at the Montreal hospital said re-inserting the bone could have caused an infection.
"They told her there was a problem with my bones, the freezer had thawed and my bone was lost," Alain told QMI Agency.
Unplugged freezer ruins precious body parts at Montreal hospital | Canada | News