ACCIDENTS AND FATALITIES.

Dominion, Volume 7, Issue 1966, 24 January 1914, Page 6

ACCIDENTS AND FATALITIES.

B*v(Ey'" Telcsro-ph.—Press Association.) DfATH UNDER ANAESTHETIC. IN THE HOSPITAL. : Yesterday afternoon Mr W. G. Riddell, S.Miyheld an inquest touching the death of Mrs. Eunice King, who died tinder an anaesthetic iii tile Wellington Public Hospital on Wednesday. . Ja.nes Garfield Mitchell, junior house surgeon, deposed that the deceased was admitted to the institution on January 3, suffering from an internal complaint. Her general health was fairlv Rood. On January 16 she underwent an operation, which was successful, but, as the patient did not progress satisfactorily, it was deemed necessary to perform a second operation. This was undertaken mi January 21. Tho patient was then in a very weak state, out the operation was absolutely necessary. Dr. Faulko (honorary surgeon at the hospital) was toopsrato, and witness administered tho anaesthetic. It was a mixtnro of chloroform and ether in equal parts. Ho had continued administering it for between tlireo and five minutes when the patient suddenly collapsed. Ho immediately took steps to r.evive her, and persisted with tho usual remedies for about forty minutes, but without effect. The deceased did not tako tho ansosthotic very well on the occasion of the first operation. Dr. Faulke,-wli'o was 111 charge of the operation, stated that tho important part of the case was an internal abscess, which had not been detected beforehand: When he operated ho found that tho patient's .condition was more serious than he had expected. Th® case was not. tlic simple 0110 that it- had appeared to he. Witness was out of the city until January 21, and. the patient was in tho caro of tho resident lionse staff. He understood tlmt she went on well until Tuesday. January 20. Ho saw her ott Wednesday, and was of opinion that there was soirto intestinal obstruction, and decided to operate to removo it. Her heart was weak, hut tho removal of tho- obstruction was imperative. Ho was preparing for the operation when he Was summoned to tile table and found her in a state of collapse Restorative measures were pursued for ov«r half an hour, hut long before then there were sians that death had ensued. Ho attributed death to. heart failure. Ho coukl not say anything as to how tho anaesthetic was administered, as lie was in the oreparation room at tho time, but he took it from what lie saw that tho patient had onlv Iwen lightly wider the anaesthetic and h'id vomited. 'There was always a certain amount of 'danger in stick circumstances. In his experience of thirty years lie had only seen three deaths under anaesthetics. They had all beefi ill similar circumstances— vcmitir.g tnrly during tire administration. livtllis caso he thought that the eauso of tho vomiting was that tho stomach was not empty, and the reason why it was not empty was that tho obstruction referred to existed. Frank King, farm labourer, the husband of the deceased, said that his wife was 30 years of age. and thev wore married about, seven years aw in Montreal, Canada. Thsv had no .children. For the last two years. Mrs. King had heeii suffering from what they had thought was trouble, but she had not been laid up for over a year, though-sho had bf"H complaining off and on. . The vcrd'ct, was that the Ooeoafd had died from heart failure <luring the administration of an anaesthetic. AN ARM TORN OFF. Watiganu!, January 23. A' young man named Hodge* bc-eaiuo entangled m belting at.tho Altoni Dairy Factocvi and"bad 1 "an arm' tarn: oft "at tlw elb'dwi The sufferer, wlto ; w\as alone at tho time of the accident, sought .assistance, and. was conveyed ; to the Patea Hospital, where tho arm was amputated at the shoulder,