Surgeon was ‘devastated’ by unexpected death during op

One of the country’s leading surgeons has spoken of his devastation at the unexpected death of a mother of four during an uncomplicated elective surgical procedure.

Eircom accounts clerk Kathleen O’Neill, aged 51, of Ryehill, Abbeyknockmoy, Co Galway, would never have died if she had not undergone the procedure for an overactive thyroid, Michael Kerin agreed yesterday.

Heartbroken husband Mattie told Ms O’Neill’s inquest in Galway yesterday that his wife had gone into Galway University Hospital for a routine procedure as a healthy woman “and she came out in a box — a coffin”.

The inquest heard that Ms O’Neill had been suffering from fatigue and occasional headaches, and had previously undergone two procedures under Prof Kerin, who is professor of surgery at Galway University Hospital and research director with the National Breast Cancer Research Institute.

Surgery for hyperparathyroidism took place on the afternoon of November 27, 2012. But two and a half hours into the neck surgery, a catastrophic event occurred.

Prof Kerin explained he had held the carotid artery with a retractor away from where he was seeking the fourth parathyroid when the carotid artery ruptured.

Cardiothoracic and vascular surgeons rushed from other theatres to help, along with anaesthetists, but such was the immense loss of blood that Ms O’Neill arrested and died.

“Out of the blue, there was a gush and the artery snapped,” he said. “I put my hand on it and shouted for help. We did intense cardiac massage, but we couldn’t resuscitate her.

“I’ve done 1,800 thyroid operations and never seen anything like this. I was completely traumatised after the event. I couldn’t explain it. It [the artery] looked grossly abnormal to me.

“There was nothing to tell me that this was going to happen… no way would her carotid have ruptured if I hadn’t been operating on her.

“The consequences are something I live with every day.”

Mr O’Neill told west Galway coroner Ciaran McLoughlin that his wife had told him there were no risks attached to the operation.

“I’m just traumatised with the lot of it. My family are ruined. I was never expecting this,” he said.

Pathologist Mary Casey said the cause of death was hypoglycaemic shock due to rupture of the carotid artery inter-operatively due to very localised degeneration of the blood vessel.