THE results of tissue tests yesterday failed to shed light on what killed a 14-year-old boy who died in surgery last month while doctors were trying to clean an infected wound.
Giorgos Hadjidemetris from Yeri died on the operating table at the end of April while undergoing surgery at Nicosia General Hospital to clean an infected wound.
The boy’s distraught relatives have accused doctors of negligence.
A post mortem earlier this month found a piece of fabric lodged in the wound, which appeared to have caused the infection and was missed by doctors on three separate occasions.
Yesterday, pathologist Marios Matsakis, who represented the family during the post mortem, said that tests had proved beyond any doubt that the fabric found in the wound was indeed a piece from the boy’s trousers.
It is thought the fabric was causing the protracted infection to the wound.
The fabric was missed for the first time in the emergency room when the boy was stitched up and discharged.
Three days later, Hadjidemetris was rushed to hospital again, suffering from fever and pains in the wound area.
It was decided that he should undergo surgery to clean his wound but the fabric was missed again.
He was then put on antibiotic treatment, but his condition continued to deteriorate and four days later doctors decided to operate again. The boy died during surgery.
After the post mortem, State Pathologist Eleni Antoniou ruled out septicaemia and pulmonary embolism as causes of the 14-year-old’s death.
But yesterday after the tissue test results were out, Antoniou said there was nothing conclusive, although findings in the lungs could be evidence of septicaemic or cardiogenic shock.
She added that samples had also been sent to an institute in London for cross- examination.
Antoniou said the results of the toxicological tests on Wednesday would probably determine the cause of death.
Matsakis said he could not understand why samples had been sent to London, adding that yesetrday’s results confirmed that there was no pathological cause for the child’s death.
He disagreed with Antoniou’s suggestion that death could have been brought about by septicaemia or cardiogenic factors and insisted on his initial suggestion that it was the anaesthetic that killed the boy.
Matsakis said he expected the toxicological tests to prove that it was indeed the anaesthetic.
The Cyprus Mail is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Cyprus. It was established in 1945 and today, with its popular and widely-read website, the Cyprus Mail is among the most trusted news sites in Cyprus. The newspaper is not affiliated with any political parties and has always striven to maintain its independence. Over the past 70-plus years, the Cyprus Mail, with a small dedicated team, has covered momentous events in Cyprus’ modern history, chronicling the last gasps of British colonial rule, Cyprus’ truncated independence, the coup and Turkish invasion, and the decades of negotiations to stitch the divided island back together, plus a myriad of scandals, murders, and human interests stories that capture the island and its -people. Observers describe it as politically conservative.
