A patient undergoing surgery for cancer caught fire in a public hospital in Athens. The 72-year-old woman survived the unprecedented incident and suffered 2nd degree burn injuries in 4% of her body.
According to initial media reports, the fire most likely was caused due to a problem with the diathermy device used for hemostasis. Diathermy is the use of high frequency alternate polarity radio-wave electrical current to cut or coagulate tissue during surgery. It allows for precise incisions to be made with limited blood loss and is now used in nearly all surgical disciplines.
The tragic incident occurred on Thursday afternoon at Alexandra Hospital in central Athens.
Doctors and nurses participating in the operation which had just been completed were reportedly terrified and rushed to use whatever they could find (fabrics, etc.) to extinguish the flames that had surrounded the patient’s body. The fire was extinguished in a few seconds.
The diathermy system was placed under the patient’s body during the specific operation.
The patient suffered 2nd degree burns to her body and chest. She is hospitalized “in good condition” at the same hospital, while a plastic surgeon has taken care of her.
The hospital administration has already ordered an urgent investigation in order to find the causes of the tragic incident. Doctors and nurses who were in the operation room have been called to testify.
According to the scenarios circulating in the media, either the device was not maintained or there was human error to blame for wrong handling.
“It is a tragic event. There are maintenance companies for these systems and the maintenance should have been done properly,” said Michalis Giannakos, president of the Federation of Public Hospital Employees (POEDIN) told Mega TV.
Later on Friday, the 1st Health Department issued a statement to explain how the patient, who was undergoing surgery in a scheduled operation for cancer, caught fire.
According to medicine news website healthreport.gr that revealed the tragic incident, the 1st HD said that “during the operation and towards the end of it and possibly due to a sudden failure in the medical equipment of the operating room, a flame was caused from which the patient, aged 72, female, suffered 2nd degree burns. .
Health Minister, Adonis Georgiadis, described the incident as “unacceptable” in a post on X, adding that he ordered an urgent investigation, while promising the punishment of the person responsible.
