A mum and dad were left distraught after a simple operation to dislodge a popcorn kernel from their two-year old’s nose went drastically wrong.
A two-year-old boy died after doctors blasted air up his nose, rupturing his stomach and lungs in an attempt to dislodge a popcorn kernel, with two doctors now having been indicted for manslaughter due to negligence.
Ravi de Souza Figueiredo died just hours after he was treated and discharged from the Goiatuba Municipal Hospital in Goias state, Brazil. The horrific procedure has resulted in two doctors being indicted for manslaughter after police and prosecutors opened an investigation into negligence at the hospital.
His parents took him to hospital after they found the object stuck in his nose and they were unable to remove it themselves. The first port of call from hospital staff was an attempt to extract it with tweezers. It comes after a schoolboy, 13, has both legs amputated after ‘getting cramp’ at sports camp.
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After this failed they then inserted a rubber cannula into his nostril and blew compressed air twice in an attempt to dislodge it. The family said the kernel remained stuck and the child vomited immediately afterwards.
His father noticed his stomach swell right after the procedure, and then the forensic reports found his lung and stomach had ruptured. Ravi was given medication for gas, kept under observation for a few hours and discharged. He later fell ill again and returned to the hospital, where further tests were carried out.
“He remained bloated, weak and couldn’t speak. He didn’t look well, he was distressed, so we returned to the same hospital,'” his father Josenilson da Silva Figueiredo said. A pediatrician ordered his transfer to a larger hospital, but on the way he developed breathing difficulties and was tragically pronounced dead soon after on April 5.
His mother, Priscila Marta de Souza, said: “I saw the moment the nurse lowered her head. She said: ‘Unfortunately, your son has passed away.’ I went into despair.”
The autopsy recorded acute respiratory failure as the cause of death. His father is quoted in Brazilian news website G1 as saying: “Ravi was fine, breathing normally and even talking. He was a healthy child, running everywhere. I want justice. It’s so painful.”
Police chief Sergio Henrique said the compressed air procedure was not in line with standard practice and that an immediate X-ray could have prevented the tragedy.
“When trying to remove the corn kernel, which was in the boy’s nose, the doctor used a non-standard technique, which is not recommended – introducing a compressed air cannula into the child’s upper airways,” he said, addressing reporters on July 9.
“This caused air to enter the lungs and stomach with great force, leading to the rupture of these organs,” he added. They have now charged Dr Daniella Carvalho Ferreira and Dr Isabella Helena Caixeta de Oliveira with negligence over the boy’s death.
The Public Prosecutor’s Office has received the investigation and is awaiting technical information from the Regional Medical Council of the State of Goias. The family’s lawyer, Vinicius Dias, said he would assist the prosecution and file a civil lawsuit, adding that the defence would be ‘firm, technical and combative’ to ensure accountability.