Young woman arrived for a nose job — and received acid instead of anesthesia
The 18-year-old was evacuated in serious condition to the hospital after it is suspected that a tampon soaked in acid was inserted into her nose instead of an anesthetic. The medical error was discovered shortly after the incident, and she was immediately sedated and intubated by the medical staff. Her condition is defined as stable; it is not yet known how the error occurred.
An 18-year-old woman who arrived last Friday for an aesthetic nose job at the TLV MEDICAL center was evacuated in serious condition to Ichilov Hospital after, during the preparation stage for the surgery, it is suspected that a tampon soaked in acid was inserted into her nose instead of a substance intended for local anesthesia.
According to the details known at this stage, the error was discovered shortly after the insertion of the tampon. The medical staff acted immediately, sedated and intubated the young woman, and she was evacuated, according to the report by 'Kan', via an MDA team to Ichilov Hospital for further treatment.
Since Friday, she has been hospitalized in the intensive care unit at Ichilov, where medical teams continue to monitor her condition and treat the injury caused to her; her condition is currently stable. At this stage, it is still unclear how the error occurred, what was the exact type of substance the tampon was soaked in, and how it reached the preparation stage for the surgery instead of the substance that was supposed to be used by the staff.
From the TLV MEDICAL center, it was stated:
"During the weekend, an extremely unusual incident occurred at the medical center during a cosmetic surgery for an 18-year-old woman. After the anesthesia stage, which was performed completely correctly by the anesthesiologist, and when the patient was already fully sedated, the doctor inserted tampons into the nostrils that are supposed to assist in the surgical process. Due to an extremely unusual human error by the nurse in the operating room, the tampons were dipped in a different substance. The medical staff identified the rare error within seconds, and the young woman was transferred as customary for treatment at Ichilov Hospital. Medical representatives from the center are in contact with the young woman's family and are supporting her. The medical center regrets the unusual incident, apologizes for it, and welcomes the fact that the case was identified immediately and the staff acted quickly to minimize potential damage to the patient. The unusual case was reported to the Ministry of Health authorities as customary".
