4-year-old girl suffers cardiac arrest after surgical suturing at Yan Chai Hospital

A 4-year-old girl is currently in critical condition as she developed cardiac arrest after a surgical suturing operation, Yan Chai Hospital announced on Tuesday.

The Hospital said the girl suffered head injuries in a fall at home last Saturday (May 25) and was sent to the A&E with a 2-cm wound along with a fever.

She was then arranged for a suturing procedure and received three stitches on her head. The operation took around three minutes in total.

However, it was discovered that the girl's heart has stopped beating after the treatment. The medical staff immediately performed resuscitation, in which her pulse recovered after 18 minutes.

The Hospital said the brain and lung X-ray scans were performed with no abnormality found.

The girl was then admitted to the paediatric intensive care unit of Princess Margaret Hospital for treatment, where the clinical diagnosis was hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy.

Yan Chai Hospital stated that the patient is currently in critical condition and described the situation as rare. The case will be reviewed by experts to assess the procedures.