LETTERS
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letters@outpatientsurgery.net
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N O V E M B E R 2 0 1 4 | O U T P AT I E N T S U R G E R Y M A G A Z I N E O N L I N E
Rescuing Joan Rivers
◗ Re: "The Death of Joan Rivers: What
Went Wrong?" (October, page 26).
Assuming laryngospasm was the likely
culprit, whether dedicated anesthesia
providers were present or not, what sort
of ENT surgeon does not know how to
puncture the cricothyroid membrane
(when a patient is approaching extremis)
to bypass a laryngospasm he is unable to
manage? Failing such a cosmetically dis-
figuring maneuver, even directly spray-
ing the spasming vocal cords with lido-
caine would have probably saved Ms.
Rivers from death.
Barry L. Friedberg, MD
Corona del Mar, Calif.
drfriedberg@drfriedberg.com
Pink Panty Stunt Indefensible
For the
Record
◗ The McGrath Video
Laryngoscope pictured in
"Video Views of Airway
Visualization Devices"
(September, p. 56)
should have been
listed as a
product
of
Teleflex,
not LMA
North
America,
the sub-
sidiary com-
pany that
Teleflex
acquired in 2012.
◗ Re: "Man Sues After Waking From Colonoscopy
Wearing Pink Panties" (
tinyurl.com/q6fgzct
). No mat-
ter how funny the staff involved thought they were
being, this behavior is indefensible. Any adult and
licensed professional should have known better
than to participate in such a stunt. The plaintiff will
recover on this issue, because there is no accept-
able explanation for this. The facility has no one to
blame but itself for this egregious behavior.
Louis G. Stanfield, CRNA, PhD
Mercy Medical Center
Sioux City, Iowa
lgstanfield@hotmail.com
www outpatientsurgery.net
Outpatient
S
urgery
S
Saying 'I'm Sorry'
After an Error
p. 24
7 Cool Ways to Use
Mobile Devices
p. 34
What's Hiding in
Your GI Scopes?
p. 41
HD Displays: More Than
A Pretty Picture
p. 63
October 2014
R
Magazine
The Death of Joan Rivers
What Went Wrong?
What Went Wrong?
The Death of Joan Rivers
Lessons
learned from the endoscopy that was anything but routine. P. 26
Lessons learned from the endoscopy that was anything but routine.
