Anton McNulty
A VERDICT of misadventure was recorded in the inquest of a 87-year-old Foxford woman who died during surgery in Mayo General Hospital following a fall in her nursing home.
Nora O’Hara of Slieve na Gréine, Foxford died on August 17 last during an operation on her hip which she fractured following a fall in the Blackrock Nursing Home in Foxford. Orthopaedic Surgeon, Mr Osman Yagoub, who was performing the surgery said it was progressing well but Mrs O’Hara developed sudden apnoea and had no cardiac output and died despite half an hour of CPR.
Dr Tunde Adegbola, Consultant Pathologist who performed the post mortem said there was bone marrow present in the lung and in his opinion death was due to bone marrow and fat pulmonary embolism due to the fractured left femur. He explained that bone marrow entered the blood stream and got into the lung following the break. This he said is known to occur in fractures and is high risk for patients regardless of whether they are young or old.
The inquest which took place in Castlebar heard that Mrs O’Hara was a patient in the Blackrock Nursing Home since 2008 and was able to walk with the aid of a frame. On August 16, she fell in the bathroom and after complaining of pain in her hip was transferred to Mayo General Hospital.
Dr Yagoub explained that Mrs O’Hara had fractured the neck of her left femur which was completely displaced. After she was assessed she was considered in reasonable condition to undergo surgery. Dr Yagoub said that delay in surgery is one of the known predictors of increased mortality in such age groups with such a fracture. He explained the surgery should have taken 45 minutes and was progressing well until the complications.
Mr John O’Dwyer said he was recording a verdict of misadventure but was not critical of any person. He said that there were risk factors with the procedure and expressed his sympathy to the family of Mrs O’Hara.
