Mishaps in Manhattan: ASA Members Respond

On January 7, 2003, Olivia Goldsmith, author of the best-selling novel First Wives Club, lapsed into a coma and never regained consciousness after being sedated for plastic surgery. Six weeks later, another patient at the same New York hospital experienced complications after being sedated and later died. In response to these tragic events, ASA members have spoken out about anesthesiology’s role in patient safety and have encouraged the public to become more informed about anesthesia during surgical procedures.

• ASA President Roger W. Litwiller, M.D., talked about patient safety during plastic surgery procedures in People magazine and USA Today. He also provided background information for CNN and Newsday.
  
  
• Immediate Past President James E. Cottrell, M.D., appeared on a live news broadcast on anesthesia and plastic surgery on WABC-TV in New York City. He was also a spokesperson on the same topic in an April issue of New York magazine.
  
  
• Kathryn E. McGoldrick, M.D., commented on patient’s reactions to anesthesia during plastic surgery in the New York Times.

Timely Tips

Life-saving questions to ask your anesthesiologists prior to surgery were featured in a January issue of Newsweek and a February issue of the Chicago Tribune. The Newsweek article also contained a link to ASA’s Web site <www.anesthesiasafety.info>, and the Chicago Tribune urged readers to follow ASA guidelines regarding fasting before surgery.

A March Chicago Tribune feature on chronic pain discussed the latest issues in pain medicine. The article included information from ASA members Noor M. Gajraj, M.D., Melvin C. Gitlin, M.D., and Barry S. Ring, M.D.

Office-Based Surgery

Hector Vila, Jr., M.D., was interviewed for background information for a recent segment on ABC’s 20/20 about office-based surgery deaths. His recent study on the safety of anesthesia in office-based settings that employed anesthesiologists was published in the Annals of Surgery and also was featured in the ASA 2003 Annual Meeting Media Kit. Dr. Vila has served as a spokesperson on anesthesia and plastic surgery in a number of Florida newspapers and other news sources.