An 18-year-old with numerous broken teeth and a lot of pain is extremely afraid of treatment. In 2016, he went to a dental practice in Hamburg-Altona with his mother and wanted a general anesthesia. But during the appointment, which lasted several hours, cardiovascular failure occurred and the young man died shortly afterwards in a hospital. Almost eight years later, the trial against the anesthetist and the dentist began in the Hamburg district court on Thursday. The public prosecutor’s office accuses them of common bodily harm resulting in death.
The prosecution is convinced that the 18-year-old was not properly informed about all the risks, alternative treatment methods and the type of anesthesia monitoring. If he had been fully aware of this, the young man would not have consented to the procedure, says the public prosecutor. The cardiovascular failure occurred because of the improper administration of anesthesia. This was misinterpreted by the anesthesiologist. The emergency services were alerted too late.
Anesthetist admits mistake: “I caused a tragedy”
At the start of the trial, the anesthetist admitted mistakes. “I caused a tragedy,” said the 67-year-old. “He died under my treatment.” He wanted to help the 18-year-old overcome his fear. He concentrated too much on the human aspect and not enough on the necessary equipment and failed as a doctor. The defendant apologized to the family. The mother and daughter of the deceased are co-plaintiffs.
The dentist then reported the terrible events in tears. The 18-year-old had not been to the dentist for years because of his fears and his teeth were in very poor condition. He had only been able to cope with this for a long time with painkillers. He refused a full examination, but they were at least able to take x-rays. The 46-year-old explained that she gave the patient options such as laughing gas or hypnosis, but he still wanted general anesthesia. “He wanted to sleep during the treatment, he didn’t want to be involved.”
She asked in vain at a dental clinic whether such treatment under general anesthesia was possible there. She then called in the anesthetist, whom she had met as an experienced doctor in previous encounters. He assured her that dental treatment lasting several hours under general anesthesia would not be a problem for such a young person. The appointment at the dentist’s office was scheduled for May 27, 2016. “I was firmly convinced that I had fulfilled my duty of care,” emphasized the dentist.
The death of the 18-year-old is very stressful for a dentist – “It all happened so quickly”
At first the anesthesia went smoothly. After a while she left the room to do something in her laboratory. During that time, a colleague had already renovated her front teeth. But when she returned everything was different. “I immediately saw that the treatment had been interrupted.” The patient’s condition had worsened. She asked the anesthetist whether she should call the emergency doctor. “He said no, he had the situation under control,” reported the practice owner. “It all happened so quickly.” She finally called for an ambulance. But the 18-year-old died in the hospital that evening. The dentist said she was incredibly sorry for his death and was putting a lot of strain on her.