Inquest into the death of Desmond Tilmouth
Deceased
Desmond Jambajimba Tilmouth
Demographics
50y, male
Date of death
2014-02-08
Finding date
2015-02-19
Cause of death
myocardial infarction caused by coronary atherosclerosis
AI-generated summary
Desmond Jambajimba Tilmouth, a 50-year-old Aboriginal man, died of myocardial infarction from severe coronary atherosclerosis complicated by end-stage renal disease and an incarcerated strangulated umbilical hernia. He died in custody at Alice Springs Hospital shortly after emergency hernia repair surgery. Despite pre-existing conditions making him unfit for surgery (10% survival chance), he consented after full risk discussion. The coroner found no criticisms of care provided by either the Alice Springs Correctional Centre medical staff or hospital staff. His sudden clinical deterioration within 24 hours shocked his family who had spoken to him the previous day. The case highlights how severely ill patients may appear well and how rapidly life-threatening surgical emergencies can develop. Care was appropriate and timely throughout.
AI-generated summary and tagging — may contain inaccuracies; refer to original finding for legal purposes.
Specialties
Drugs involved
Clinical conditions
Contributing factors
- severe coronary atherosclerosis with almost completely blocked vessels
- end-stage renal disease requiring haemodialysis
- type 2 diabetes
- cirrhosis and liver disease
- incarcerated strangulated umbilical hernia requiring emergency surgery
- cardiac hypertrophy
- previous myocardial infarctions
- acute heart failure perioperatively
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