Wednesday, January 4, 2023 | 11:58 a.m.
A 7-year-old boy died in Mexico after a dentist applied anesthesia to treat him for a toothache. The doctor was arrested and she was charged with manslaughter.
The tragic event occurred in the town of María Magdalena, in Mexico. The little one had gone with his father to be treated for a nuisance. Before starting the treatment, the dentist gave him the medicine so that he “does not feel pain”. However, after completing the arrangement, the expert saw that the boy did not react or wake up.
“The dentist performed the medical intervention and applied anesthesia to the patient, without realizing that the infant stopped presenting vital signs. Given these facts, the victim’s father urgently transferred him to a private hospital where different resuscitation maneuvers were carried out, without any favorable results,” reported the Querétaro Attorney General’s Office.
After reuniting with the baby, the father rushed him to the hospital for treatment, but he had already died.
As expected, the parents of the young victim filed the corresponding complaint against the dentist in question.
After the complaint by the family, the office was raided by the police and the woman was charged with manslaughter. The causes of the child’s death are still unknown.
The police forces of Santa María Magdalena proceeded to detain the woman as pretrial detention on charges of manslaughter.
It should be noted that so far the causes that led to the 7-year-old boy losing his life due to a minor dental procedure are unknown.
Investigators await the results of the autopsy to have a clearer picture of the dynamics of the events that led to a true tragedy.
The risks of anesthesia
The effects of anesthesia generate certain complications that are more related to the physical state of the patient and the difficulty of the surgical procedure, than to the anesthesia itself.
Patients who are smokers, obese, with high blood pressure, diabetes, who drink alcohol regularly, with heart, respiratory or kidney disease, are the ones who are more likely to present complications.
Before the intervention, the anesthesiologist will evaluate in a pre-anesthetic consultation the possible risks that each patient presents due to their characteristics, to take them into account at the time of the intervention and minimize them.
