An 18-month-old baby girl died from brain damage less than a week after being anaesthetized for an operation, an inquest heard yesterday.
Dr Jacinta McGinley, an anaesthetist at Our Lady's Hospital for Sick Children in Crumlin, admitted that Evie Pereira's brain injuries had probably occurred during the anaesthetic procedure before an exploratory operation on April 19th, 2002.
Dublin City Coroner Dr Brian Farrell said there had been evidence the baby had also got into difficulties in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) and said this may have exacerbated the damage.
Evie's parents, Mr Tibbs Pereira and Ms Deirdre Walsh-Pereira from Skerries Rock, Skerries, Co Dublin, were in court yesterday. The baby died in the hospital on April 24th, 2002.
She had suffered from respiratory problems after she was born with a severe abnormality of the larynx. She had undergone operations to repair the hole in her windpipe, or laryngeal cleft, and had suffered continuous respiratory problems since birth.
Dr McGinley told the inquest that Evie got into difficulties as she was anaesthetized on April 19th for an exploratory operation. The operation was cancelled as during Dr McGinley's attempts to anaesthetize her, the baby's breathing became laboured and then her heart rate fell.
Dr Michael McDermott, pathologist, found Evie died from brain damage due to a lack of oxygen to the brain for a period of time. He also said holes in the repair work to her windpipes had reopened and were behind her recurrent respiratory problems. He could not pinpoint if the brain damage had been caused during the operation or an incident in the ICU just after the operation.
Dr McGinley said: "I am sure what happened now, in the benefit of hindsight, that what happened in the anaesthetist room that day contributed, but as to what happened afterwards only God knows the answer to that."
She said she performed the anaesthetic procedure to the exact standard for children with airway problems.
A solicitor for the baby's parents said Dr McGinley originally claimed the child had been in difficulty with a low heartbeat and breathing problems for around 30 seconds. Dr McGinley later said it could have been two minutes.
The family raised issues that she had not looked at previous reports of difficulties from other anaesthetists. Dr Farrell adjourned the inquest to hear what happened in the ICU ward after the child was finished in the operating theatre. - (PA)