Expert: Dr Ian Jackson - please note UK based - 2/1/2009

Question
Greetings,

When I was in Greece I heard that one of the owners of the school I was working in had died during a tonsillectomy.

Now I find that the same thing happened to one of Rauf Denktash’s sons.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rauf_Denkta%C5%9F

Since, according to my understanding, this is a very simple operation, could some kind of problem with anaesthetics be the likely cause? Otherwise, I really don't know what to think.

All the best,

Simon

Answer
Hi Simon
In the grand scheme of things tonsillectomy may be fairly simple - though no operation is without risks. It is possible for there to be problems with the anaesthetic or with the airway after the operation e.g. a blood clot can block the airway.
Not much I can add without details about what happened in each case - however problems with the anaesthetic could well have been the cause of these deaths.
Dr Ian Jackson