A Miami woman suffered severe brain damage and required round-the-clock care after a terminally ill anesthesiologist gave her a “massive dose” of fentanyl during what her husband claims was “unnecessary” dental surgery.
Maria Lugo Querales narrowly escaped death on May 10, 2022, when her heart stopped beating and she could not breathe, after Dr. Jerry Teague allegedly administered an overdose of the anesthetic without first instilling it, according to a civil medical malpractice complaint filed by the patient’s husband, Luis Espana.
Lugo had gone to the Nunnally, Freeman and Owens dental clinic, in Marble Falls, Texas, to undergo procedures on “alleged ‘cavitation’ and extraction of asymptomatic root canal-treated teeth,” the lawsuit alleges.
Maria Lugo Querales has been living in a specialized care facility since 2022, when she nearly died during a dental procedure. gofundme Lugo, of Miami, traveled to Texas to undergo elective surgery on his root canal tooth. Facebook/Maria Elena Lugo Querales
In preparation for the surgery, Lugo was treated with about 400 grams of fentanyl — a powerful narcotic used for severe pain — along with the sedative midazolam and the anesthetic lidocaine, according to a police report previously cited by the San Antonio Express-News.
Dr. Robert Ertner, an anesthesiologist from California who was not involved in the Lugo case, told the news outlet in April 2023 that “400 micrograms of fentanyl is a large dose for someone who is having a tooth pulled.”
Teague, who works as an anesthesiologist at a Marble Falls clinic, gave Lugo a cocktail of drugs the day after he was reported missing by his wife, having failed to return from an evening walk.
Teague’s wife told police that her husband was suffering from “cognitive problems” because he had recently been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and was told he had less than a year to live, according to Espana’s lawsuit.
Dr. Jerry Teague, left, who is dying of cancer, allegedly gave Lugo a large amount of narcotics without first injecting him. Facebook/Jerry Teague
Teague returned home just 45 minutes after being reported missing, telling his wife and police that he was dehydrated and disoriented.
He refused to go to the hospital.
The next morning, Teague’s wife drove him to work at the clinic because she didn’t want to risk a repeat of the events of the day before, according to court filings.
Lugo, who was Teague’s only patient that day, was unaware of his missing action, and neither Teague nor the dentist obtained his informed consent for anesthesia, the lawsuit alleges.
Teague failed to intubate Lugo, who overdosed on anesthetic “without airway protection,” court filings said.
A scheduled dental surgery was canceled as the patient was rushed by paramedics to St. David in Austin.
Marble Falls Police Department photo of the vial of fentanyl in the room where Maria Lugo was drugged. Marble Falls Police Department
Just two weeks after the sloppy dental appointment, Teague died of cancer.
He is 70 years old.
Lugo now lives in a neurological rehabilitation facility in Florida, where he receives 24-hour care.
He breathes through a tracheotomy and is fed through a tube.
Espana sued the dental office and dentist Dr. Lane Freeman and Dr. Stuart Nunnally was negligent, accusing them of “bargaining, planning and performing unnecessary dental surgery” and causing him to be sedated “without valid reason” – a claim doctors have denied.
According to the complaint, Lugo had decided to seek treatment at the Texas clinic after hearing about it through Dr. Ludwig Johnson, an Instagram influencer with 1.9 million followers who featured Freeman and Nunnally in a YouTube video talking about the alleged risks associated with roots. canal.
“They told the audience that ‘cavitation’ is a wound in the mouth where a tooth has been extracted, such as a wisdom tooth, where the toxicity can rival that of a gangrenous wound,” according to a recent Espana court filing.
Espana claimed in an affidavit that after seeing the three doctors, his wife became convinced that his “lack of energy, depression, heart problems, rheumatoid arthritis and thyroid problems could be caused by his root canal treated tooth and the space underneath it pulled. teeth, which they call cavity
“These doctors convinced him that he had a dental problem that was creating an auto-immune issue that led to these health challenges,” Espana said, saying that it prompted his decision to undergo elective treatment.
Lugo’s heart stopped beating and she couldn’t breathe, resulting in severe brain damage, according to a lawsuit filed by her husband, Luis Espana, left. Facebook/Maria Elena Lugo Querales
But he insisted that “there is no evidence of sound, reliable and valid scientific medical knowledge or research that the surgery is necessary.”
The dentist argued in a response filing that the potential risks were discussed with Lugo before he “agreed to the recommended care.”
They also claimed that his injuries were the result of a “pre-existing medical condition” and a “failed attempt at general anesthesia.”
What happened to the patient, according to the defendant, was an “inevitable accident because it was not caused by the negligence of any party in this action.”
The practice also sought to distance itself from Teague, describing him as an “independent contractor” — even though Espana’s lawsuit notes that he was listed as the practice’s staff anesthesiologist.
Questions have been raised about Teague’s professional history, including a lawsuit and suspension in 2016, when he was barred from practicing medicine by the state Board of Dental Examiners for three years after his hair follicles tested positive for fentanyl and midazolam.
The doctor had stolen drugs, for which he did not have a prescription, from supplies he kept for patients, according to a report.
The board wrote that Teague’s continued practice of dental anesthesiology “would constitute a clear, definite or continuing threat to a person’s physical health and well-being.”
Teague’s suspension ended in 2019, the same year he was hired by the Marble Falls clinic.
Espana is seeking unspecified damages from the dental practice and doctor, after reaching a confidential settlement with Teague’s estate last month.
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
