Deceased
William John Colhoun
Demographics
71y, male
Coroner
Deputy State Coroner Iain West
Date of death
2008-12-04
Finding date
2013-08-15
Cause of death
Multi organ failure due to post-operative bleeding following endoluminal thoracic and abdominal aneurysm repair
AI-generated summary
William Colhoun, 71, underwent complex endovascular repair of thoracic-abdominal aortic aneurysm at St Vincent's Private Hospital on 1 December 2008. He developed post-operative instability with hypotension, metabolic acidosis, acute renal failure and coagulopathy. Re-angiography at 10pm on 2 December identified a renal artery tear with active haemorrhage—a previously unreported complication of this procedure. The tear was stented but profound blood loss led to multi-organ failure and death on 4 December. The coroner found clinical management reasonable given the rare complication and confusing clinical picture. However, critical deficiencies were identified in family communication: neither the operating surgeon nor interventional radiologist contacted the family for 30 hours post-operatively, and the surgeon never acknowledged the family during ICU visits. This caused significant unnecessary distress and was deemed unprofessional.
AI-generated summary and tagging — may contain inaccuracies; refer to original finding for legal purposes. Report an inaccuracy.
Specialties
Error types
Clinical conditions
Procedures
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