The Guiyang county health authority Central China's Hunan Province on Wednesday confirmed the death of a 4-year-old boy during tooth extraction, saying a joint working group is conducting a thorough investigation of the matter and the relevant medical personnel at the hospital have been suspended from duties and are under investigation.
According to the statement released by the Guiyang health authority, the boy surnamed Xu was admitted to the department of oral and maxillofacial surgery at the First People's Hospital of Guiyang county at 8:15 am on Sunday. With the consent of the family, the surgery for partial maxillary bone resection and removal of the impacted tooth in the maxilla was performed under general anesthesia at 12:40 pm on Monday.
During the anesthesia process, the child suddenly experienced an emergency situation. The hospital's expert team immediately took measures to rescue him, and urgently contacted municipal-level ICU experts for rescue on site. Regrettably, despite the all-out efforts, the child passed away at 18:22 pm on Monday, said the statement.
A netizen said on Tuesday that her 4-year-old nephew suffered an accident during a routine baby tooth extraction and unfortunately passed away. In response, staffers from the hospital said the matter is being handled, domestic media outlet Qilu Evening News reported.
In a video posted online, the netizen said that her younger brother's child died while undergoing the dental surgery at the First People's Hospital of Guiyang county.
The incident occurred around 12 noon that day. Yet, it was until approximately 6 pm the same day that the hospital informed them of the tragic news, the child's aunt said.
"Who would have thought a commonplace baby tooth extraction — a procedure involving brief anesthesia — would become the boy's final farewell? The involved hospital administered general anesthesia but failed to extract the tooth," wrote the deceased child's aunt in the video.
Across multiple posts, the netizen pressed for answers, demanding accountability: "Was it an error in the anesthesia dosage? A violation of operational procedures? Or was it that the involved doctors were simply unqualified to handle emergencies?"
The incident has sparked discussions among netizens. Some questioned the necessity of general anesthesia for a 4-year-old's deciduous tooth removal. The netizen replied that "the doctor claimed the child was too young for local anesthesia."
On Tuesday afternoon, the hospital's administrative office confirmed its medical department was "handling the matter," though specific details remain unclear, the Qilu Evening News reported.
