McMaster hospital to resume tonsil and adenoid surgeries after review into deaths of 2 children

McMaster Children’s Hospital says it will resume tonsil and adenoid surgeries next week, almost four months after two children died following the procedure.

Hamilton Health Sciences said Monday that an external review by independent experts launched in June did not find any specific issues with the hospital’s ear, nose and throat surgical program.

“The review is now complete and did not identify any specific actions, absence of actions, quality of care concerns, or systems issues that directly or indirectly contributed to the two deaths,” the organization said in a statement.

Pediatric tonsil and adenoid surgeries were paused at the hospital on June 4 after one child died the day after surgery and another died nine days after their procedure. Tonsils and adenoids are lymph nodes in the back of the throat and nose.  

At the time, the chief of pediatric surgery at McMaster Children’s Hospital called the deaths “tragic” and “very rare” in an online video offering condolences to the patients’ families.

The hospital said it’s now in the process of scheduling postponed surgeries, and the procedures will resume Oct. 7.

Hamilton Health Sciences said it also conducted internal quality of care reviews “which will inform changes to our policies and procedures,” but did not provide any details.

Its website says 584 pediatric tonsil and/or adenoid surgeries were performed at McMaster Children’s Hospital last year. Of those procedures, 5.8 per cent of patients returned to the emergency department after they were discharged.

The Canadian Society of Otolaryngology has said that overall, about five per cent of tonsillectomy patients bleed after surgery and return to hospital.