The family of a 24-year-old California man who died following a wisdom teeth extraction is now questioning what went wrong during the normally routine operation.
Marek Lapinski, a vice president for a 3D technology company, died on March 21 when he underwent a procedure to extract two wisdom teeth.
“He had no health issues we were aware of. This was very strange and unexpected,” said Marek’s mother, April Lapinski.
Medical records provided by Lapinski’s family reportedly reveal Marek woke up coughing sometime during the operation and was given propofol — a surgical anesthetic that killed singer Michael Jackson — so that the oral surgeon could complete the procedure.
Instead, Lapinski went into cardiac arrest and had to be rushed to the hospital. He passed away three days later, ABC News reports.
While the official cause of Marek’s death is pending an autopsy, the Lapinski family said they plan to take legal action as they were informed by a doctor at the hospital that Marek may have suffered an overdose.
“The pulmonary doctor at the hospital told me it looked like an overdose to him,” April Lapinski said.
In addition, Marek Lapinski’s sister, Natalie who is also a nurse, said she examined her brother’s medical records, and found he was administered at least six different sedatives by the surgeon.
“In talking to the nurse at the hospital, from what they told me, he was given way too much anesthesia,” his sister said.
Following the tragedy, Fox 5 San Diego investigated Dr. Steven Paul, the oral surgeon who administered the Mark Lapinski’s wisdom teeth procedure.
Per Fox’s findings, the state of Nevada shows Dr. Paul as a registered oral surgeon and has a permit to practice general anesthesia. He is in good standing with the state and has no formal complaints against him.
More on Marek Lapinski’s tragic death in the video below:
Image: Shutterstock
