Mother sues for £2.5m over son's brain injury

Published on Tuesday 10 November 2009 21:30

A MOTHER who alleges her son suffered brain damage during a visit to the dentist is claiming £2.5 million damages.

Ryan Gallacher was six when he was put under general anaesthetic to have a number of teeth removed. His heart stopped and he had to be resuscitated, but he was left with "significant intellectual impairment".

Ryan's mother, Anne Marie Gallacher, alleges negligence by the anaesthetist and is suing his employer, Greater Glasgow Health Board, at the Court of Session in Edinburgh.

Dr Alexander Colquhoun, 54, denies he was to blame, insisting that he did everything in accordance with medical practice.

The court was told that Ryan and his mother, of Old Kilpatrick, Dunbartonshire, attended Townhead dental clinic, within the Glasgow Royal Infirmary complex, in March 2002 to have nine teeth extracted.

He was anaesthetised for the ten-minute procedure, but problems developed in his breathing and he had a cardiac arrest. Staff applied electric shocks and used external cardiac massage to restore his normal heart rhythm.

Ms Gallacher's lawyers claim there had been significant bleeding in Ryan's mouth and a piece of equipment, a laryngeal mask airway (LMA), which had been inserted into his throat, was removed while he was still deeply unconscious, with the risk that blood or other debris might enter his unprotected airway. The judge, Lord Uist, was told that Ryan was admitted to the intensive care unit of the Royal Hospital for Sick Children at Yorkhill, Glasgow, and remained in hospital for almost eight weeks.

In her claim, Ms Gallacher says her son, now 14, suffered significant brain damage, and impairment of his intellectual functioning. Also, he had physical problems on his left side, and had a tendency to fall and difficulty in picking up objects with his left hand. It was unlikely he would be able to hold down employment, or live independently as an adult. He would require support throughout his life.

Greater Glasgow Health Board denies any negligence in Ryan's treatment. It maintains that the amount of bleeding was consistent with the number of teeth removed, and that for Ryan, an asthmatic, removing the LMA while he remained under deep anaesthesia was the better option.

Dr Colquhoun told the court he was now based in the United States, but at the time of the incident he had been a consultant at Glasgow Royal Infirmary for 12 years and worked one afternoon a week at the dental clinic.

"I cannot remember exactly what happened," he said.

"It was seven years ago. I have some recollection of the incident. I have been giving anaesthesia for 26 years and Ryan is the only healthy child or healthy person (with whom] I ended up in a cardiac arrest situation."

Gerald Hanretty, QC, for Ms Gallacher, asked: "If you had left the LMA in, the blood, secretions or debris would not have gone into the airway, would it?"

Dr Colquhoun replied: "I do not think you can say that for certain."

The hearing is expected to last three weeks.