Parents sue after teen dies after third-molar surgery

The parents of a Maryland teenager who died after a routine third-molar extraction are suing the anesthesiologist and oral surgeon who performed the procedure for medical malpractice, according to an article in Explore Howard.

The civil suit, filed November 30 in Howard County Circuit Court, alleges that anesthesiologist Krista Michelle Isaacs, MD, and Domenick Coletti, DDS, MD, were negligent after Jennifer Olenick, a 17-year-old girl from Woodstock, died 10 days after undergoing the March 18 procedure, Explore Howard reported.

She died from "massive and irreversible brain injury," according to the complaint.

Olenick received a standard dose of anesthesia but required more, the article stated. She then began to experience bradycardia and her oxygen saturation dropped. Hypoxic arrest followed, and emergency responders were contacted as they began advanced cardiovascular life support procedures.

The lawsuit claims the two doctors failed to resuscitate her when her heart rate dropped to 40 beats per minute and that their actions resulted in Olenick having no pulse when emergency responders reached Dr. Coletti's office. Olenick passed away on April 6.

The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner subsequently determined in its investigation that the cause of death was hypoxia and that it occurred while she was under anesthesia, the article noted.

Olenick's parents hope to raise awareness of dental-related deaths in the U.S.

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