Florida Teen Stephanie Kuleba Dies from Surgical Complications

It Appears Malignant Hyperthermia is the Culprit

Stephanie Kuleba, a very popular high school senior, is dead after having an apparent reaction to anesthesia during breast surgery. Ms. Kuleba was having corrective surgery to correct asymmetrical breasts as well as an inverted areola.

While all the details are not yet known, the doctors think her death was caused by "malignant hyperthermia," a rare metabolic condition brought on by anesthesia. Among other side effects, the patient's temperature can rise to as high as 112 degrees.

I know that anesthesia is not the "slam dunk" that many people think it is; it can cause a lot of problems because some of us have weird conditions that don't do well when "put under."

My wife has had three Cesarean sections in giving birth to our three sons. After surgery she had a problem with her bowel "waking up". In fact, she developed what is called an ileus or more specific adynamic ileus. This basically means that the bowel stops working or "freezes up' and, while it usually resolves on its own, it causes great pain and can become serious requiring surgery.

Another problem my wife had after surgery was waking up and re-inflating her lungs. She has weak lungs anyway and because the lungs couldn't take in the required oxygen, she didn't wake up as fast as she should have. Further, for four to five days she had to do respiratory exercises by blowing up a balloon.

My father-in-law had open heart surgery in 1985. He was under anesthesia and he was put on a heart-lung machine. The surgery took six hours. Due to the length of time of the surgery, it was impossible to get him back after the effects of the anesthesia, and, he died.

Anesthesia combines with our illnesses that may be lying dormant to cause trouble as in Stephanie Kuleba's case.

Recently my wife had a very simple procedure which required a sort of "twilight anesthesia". This is anesthesia that helps you forget what you went through regarding the procedure. It is used in such procedures as colonoscopies, endoscopies and mild stitching to name a few.