Alie Reichling
1989 - 2014
1989 - 2014
Medical errors at Johns Hopkins Hospital ended the vibrant and joyous life of our daughter. We, her parents, are telling her story as a testament to her courage.
Early in February Alie was admitted to Hopkins to have a cyst removed. She was in top physical condition and experiencing no distress when she entered the hospital. 40 days later she died in our arms, surrounded by love of family and friends, when doctors that contributed to her death removed her from life support. Alie never regained consciousness after the operation nor left the ICU except to return to surgery. Gratefully, she was not in pain.
Alie's doctors were:
Dr. Stephen Yang Thoracic Surgeon
Dr. Christopher Sciortino Cardiac Surgeon
Dr. Glenn Whitman Head, Cardio-Vascular Surgical ICU
Dr. Yang told us that during the procedure her blood would not coagulate due to an allergic reaction to blood thinner. We asked the likelihood of surviving what Alie was experiencing. Dr. Yang said 99.5. But within hours while in the ICU she went into cardiac arrest due to a lack of blood volume and could no longer breathe on her own. We were later told that in the first 24 hours she got as much blood as used in the next 2 hospitals in Baltimore. Then, in a subsequent surgery, lines that provide blood and oxygen support came out of her artery as she was moved from the surgical table to a hospital bed. Doctors and nurses who are family friends called this an inexcusable error. The length of time she was without blood and oxygen is still unclear to us. It had to be long since Dr. Sciortino had to return to surgery to reopen her chest and put her on the heart/lung machine. Neurological tests administered bedside (she was too weak to be moved for CAT scan) showed negligible brain activity although she had cortical function. We were told results of
Early in February Alie was admitted to Hopkins to have a cyst removed. She was in top physical condition and experiencing no distress when she entered the hospital. 40 days later she died in our arms, surrounded by love of family and friends, when doctors that contributed to her death removed her from life support. Alie never regained consciousness after the operation nor left the ICU except to return to surgery. Gratefully, she was not in pain.
Alie's doctors were:
Dr. Stephen Yang Thoracic Surgeon
Dr. Christopher Sciortino Cardiac Surgeon
Dr. Glenn Whitman Head, Cardio-Vascular Surgical ICU
Dr. Yang told us that during the procedure her blood would not coagulate due to an allergic reaction to blood thinner. We asked the likelihood of surviving what Alie was experiencing. Dr. Yang said 99.5. But within hours while in the ICU she went into cardiac arrest due to a lack of blood volume and could no longer breathe on her own. We were later told that in the first 24 hours she got as much blood as used in the next 2 hospitals in Baltimore. Then, in a subsequent surgery, lines that provide blood and oxygen support came out of her artery as she was moved from the surgical table to a hospital bed. Doctors and nurses who are family friends called this an inexcusable error. The length of time she was without blood and oxygen is still unclear to us. It had to be long since Dr. Sciortino had to return to surgery to reopen her chest and put her on the heart/lung machine. Neurological tests administered bedside (she was too weak to be moved for CAT scan) showed negligible brain activity although she had cortical function. We were told results of
bedside tests are indicative but not as certain as a CAT scan. But because of these findings Dr. Whitman advised us that Alie would not be a candidate for lung transplant that would have given her a chance at life. When certain recovery was not possible we released her to God.
Did Dr. Yang and intensivists in ICU consider other causes for such severe blood loss besides inability to coagulate? Did Dr. Yang miss a bleeding vein in surgery? And how could doctors and staff in the highest level of intensive care at Hopkins allow a patient to bleed-out into cardiac arrest? The next morning a team of physicians including Drs. Yang and Sciortino advised us of their medical plan for Alie. The second surgery they performed significantly reduced her need for blood. Why didn't they take action the previous evening when the very quantity of blood she was receiving should have told them something was wrong? As for the inexcusable error during surgery, Hopkins did conduct a review and in their words, "the precise issue that resulted in cannula displacement is not completely clear". Our request to Dr. Whitman that surgical staff responsible for the bed transfer not treat her in future surgery was denied.
Alie had been treated at Hopkins since 2006. She had a small cyst located above and behind the heart. Since biopsy showed it to be noncancerous and not interfering with life functions medical consensus was to monitor for change. The cyst had only been recently discovered at that time but was thought to be prenatal in origin. Therefore, it was possible that it had been its current size for some time and would not change making surgery unnecessary. Check-ups over the next 6 years seemed to confirm this. Then in 2012 a small but discernible increase in size was noted. The recommendation changed to continue monitoring but to expect surgery within 5 years. Then late in 2013 medical consensus became for her to have surgery at any time, but still on a non-emergency basis. Also, Alie was first advised that although she was not experiencing any medical issues, should she become pregnant a problem could develop that would preclude carrying to full term. She scheduled surgery soon thereafter for early February. In Alie's pre-surgical appointment with Dr. Yang, he said his plan was for minimally invasive surgery and "pop" the cyst out. However, he would change to the conventional open approach depending upon conditions he might find.
We were told surgery would last 3 to 4 hours. It lasted 10. In the family conference around 7:00 in the evening Dr. Yang said conditions were not as
Alie had been treated at Hopkins since 2006. She had a small cyst located above and behind the heart. Since biopsy showed it to be noncancerous and not interfering with life functions medical consensus was to monitor for change. The cyst had only been recently discovered at that time but was thought to be prenatal in origin. Therefore, it was possible that it had been its current size for some time and would not change making surgery unnecessary. Check-ups over the next 6 years seemed to confirm this. Then in 2012 a small but discernible increase in size was noted. The recommendation changed to continue monitoring but to expect surgery within 5 years. Then late in 2013 medical consensus became for her to have surgery at any time, but still on a non-emergency basis. Also, Alie was first advised that although she was not experiencing any medical issues, should she become pregnant a problem could develop that would preclude carrying to full term. She scheduled surgery soon thereafter for early February. In Alie's pre-surgical appointment with Dr. Yang, he said his plan was for minimally invasive surgery and "pop" the cyst out. However, he would change to the conventional open approach depending upon conditions he might find.
We were told surgery would last 3 to 4 hours. It lasted 10. In the family conference around 7:00 in the evening Dr. Yang said conditions were not as
expected. He completed the surgery laparoscopically not changing to the conventional approach as advised in the pre-surgery consult. He "packed" the right lung. She was in Cardio-Vascular ICU, the highest level of intensive care at Hopkins, and in an induced coma. She came out of surgery breathing on her own. At about 3:30 Wednesday morning we were told by the intensivist in charge of her care that Alie went into cardiac arrest, he needed our approval to put her on ECMO (life support machine) and he didn't expect their efforts to be successful.
She fought through. At 9:00 in the morning doctors told us of their plan to operate again, redo yesterday's surgery, this time from the front. Afterwards they told us her right lung was bleeding. They removed it. Also, because of the amount of blood products she was given her left lung had ARDS. They expected recovery. First, the heart would heal, then the lung. The heart would recover because the cardiac arrest was caused by insufficient blood volume, not an excess.
The following Monday Alie had her third surgery. Dr. Sciortino told us surgery went well, he was cautiously optimistic, and we could see her in about 45 minutes when back in ICU. Later he returned and told us he was so sorry--when Alie was being moved from the operating table to a hospital bed the ECMO lines came out causing her to lose life support. He said, "this never should have happened".
This she could not overcome.
We are grateful for the outpouring of compassion from so many people since Alie's passing. A comment heard from some not familiar with the circumstances has been, "she must have been a very sick little girl". No! A 24 year old in exceptional physical shape, and in no physical distress, entered Johns Hopkins Hospital to have surgery to prevent a serious condition from developing. Medical care at Hopkins killed her.
The following Monday Alie had her third surgery. Dr. Sciortino told us surgery went well, he was cautiously optimistic, and we could see her in about 45 minutes when back in ICU. Later he returned and told us he was so sorry--when Alie was being moved from the operating table to a hospital bed the ECMO lines came out causing her to lose life support. He said, "this never should have happened".
This she could not overcome.
We are grateful for the outpouring of compassion from so many people since Alie's passing. A comment heard from some not familiar with the circumstances has been, "she must have been a very sick little girl". No! A 24 year old in exceptional physical shape, and in no physical distress, entered Johns Hopkins Hospital to have surgery to prevent a serious condition from developing. Medical care at Hopkins killed her.
