Toddler's parents misled over heart op risks, inquest told
The parents of a toddler who died after an operation to repair a congenital heart defect today claimed they were led to believe they had nothing to worry about.
Baby Reece Doyle Byrne, from Ballybrack, Co Dublin, died on March 9, 2004 just six days short of his first birthday after an operation in Our Lady’s Hospital for Sick Children in Crumlin.
His father, Alan Doyle, said medical staff had told them there was a high success rate.
On the risks, he told the Dublin City Coroner’s Court: “They were explained - there was a 98% success rate, 2% it wouldn’t. We were led to believe it would be postponed on the day if it didn’t go all right.
“We weren’t told there was a chance he would die on the day.”
Mr Doyle said they were told a couple of things that may not go correctly with the keyhole surgery and the band on the artery.
He said they were informed he had suffered complications during the operation and began to bleed excessively, and was later rushed back to theatre and died.
The father said the chances of success for the operation should be lowered to 50/50 and parents should not be led to believe the prospects would be so good.
Mr Doyle said: “It is unbelievable how comfortable we felt about the whole operation, how we were made to believe death didn’t even come into it, we didn’t think he was going to die.”
His mother Sheelagh Byrne said she had spoken with Dr Kevin Walsh, consultant paediatric cardiologist, before the operation took place.
“The way we interpreted it – it was like a stroll in the park for them,” she said. “We weren’t made to feel there was anything could go wrong.”
Ms Byrne said she did not dispute that Dr Walsh had told them the risks. She said she did remember a mention of pulmonary artery ruptures but it came from a booklet she was given before the operation.
“I would have remembered if he had said brain damage,” she said on the outcomes if something went wrong during the operation.
The inquest heard the baby was born in the National Maternity Hospital in Holles Street and discharged home a day later.
A statement from Dr Declan Keane, master of the maternity hospital, confirmed the baby was readmitted when he was two days old after going a grey colour overnight.
The baby was transferred to the Crumlin hospital with the heart defect, an operation to put a band on the pulmonary artery was carried out.
However, by September of that year the band had tightened due to his growth and it was necessary to carry out a further operation.
Before the operation took place on March 9, 2004, Dr Walsh said: “The risks and benefits of the procedure had been explained to the parents beforehand.”
On the initial treatment to repair the congenital heart defect, Dr Walsh said without treatment there was a 90% chance a neo-natal would be expected to die in the first year.
“Surgery for that is life-saving,” he said. He said a band was placed on the pulmonary artery during that operation to lower the blood flow to the lungs and this would need to be repaired when he was older.
The inquest heard angioplasty balloons were used during the second operation and a large tear in the vessel resulted.
“It is a relatively rare occurrence but when it happens because of the circumstances it happens in it can be catastrophic,” he said.
The parents also queried why their request for little Reece’s organs to be donated was turned down.
Dr Walsh said during the prolonged attempts at resuscitation many of the organs were damaged.
Dublin City Coroner Dr Brian Farrell adjourned the inquest to hear evidence from the pathologist.
