Finding into death of Wendy Alice Ryder
Deceased
WENDY ALICE RYDER
Demographics
62y, female
Date of death
2007-06-27
Finding date
2010-04-08
Cause of death
pulmonary thromboembolism due to deep venous thrombosis of right calf
AI-generated summary
Ms Wendy Ryder, aged 62, died from pulmonary embolism secondary to deep venous thrombosis (DVT) six weeks after abdominal surgery (total abdominal hysterectomy and bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy) for treatment of severe multiple sclerosis-related leg symptoms. The treating neurologist did not consider DVT in the differential diagnosis, attributing leg signs to MS and oversedation. The coroner found appropriate care was provided and there was no reasonable basis to identify DVT before the catastrophic event. However, post-operative thromboprophylaxis considerations and DVT risk stratification in immobilised post-surgical patients should remain standard practice, even in those with comorbidities.
AI-generated summary and tagging — may contain inaccuracies; refer to original finding for legal purposes.
Specialties
Error types
Drugs involved
Contributing factors
- multiple sclerosis
- recent abdominal surgery (total abdominal hysterectomy and bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy)
- post-operative immobility
- failure to consider DVT in differential diagnosis
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