Man catches fire during surgery!

[golfmom]

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=573&e=13&u=/nm/life_patient_fire_dc

SEATTLE (Reuters) - Seattle police launched an investigation on Friday to determine how a patient undergoing emergency heart surgery caught on fire at a local hospital in 2003.



The male patient, who was not identified, went up in flames after alcohol poured on his skin was ignited by a surgical instrument.


The patient died after the surgery but that was due to heart failure and not the fire, said Dr. Robert Caplan, medical quality director of Virginia Mason.
..........

The two-year-old incident became publicly known after an anonymous letter sent to the media mentioned it as a sign of unsafe health care at the hospital, and said the patient burned to death.


Caplan strongly disputed its contents. "That letter is factually incorrect," he said.

 

[oktbsngl]

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=573&e=13&u=/nm/life_patient_fire_dc

SEATTLE (Reuters) - Seattle police launched an investigation on Friday to determine how a patient undergoing emergency heart surgery caught on fire at a local hospital in 2003.



The male patient, who was not identified, went up in flames after alcohol poured on his skin was ignited by a surgical instrument.


The patient died after the surgery but that was due to heart failure and not the fire, said Dr. Robert Caplan, medical quality director of Virginia Mason.
..........

The two-year-old incident became publicly known after an anonymous letter sent to the media mentioned it as a sign of unsafe health care at the hospital, and said the patient burned to death.


Caplan strongly disputed its contents. "That letter is factually incorrect," he said.

What surgical instrument could they have used to spark a fire............ Blow torch?

 

[concernedperson]

What surgical instrument could they have used to spark a fire............ Blow torch?

Maybe it was a saw. Open heart surgery requires cutting the ribcage. And I am sure they use an electric saw vs. a hand saw. Creepy nonetheless.

 

[browneyes]

That is horrible. I guess they should add that to the list of risks.

 

[Izzy Mae]

poor guy...​

The male patient, who was not identified, went up in flames... "the patient died after the surgery but that was due to heart failure and not the fire, said Dr. Robert Caplan, medical quality director of Virginia Mason.

wonder what caused the heart failure? :waitasec:​