A 75-year-old nun who was being treated for chronic liver disease died following an operation to remove a catheter inadvertently inserted into an artery, an inquest heard today.
Sister Eileen McLoughlin had to undergo thoracic surgery to remove the catheter which had been accidentally inserted into her carotid artery instead of the jugular vein, Dublin Coroner's Court was told.
Doctors at St Vincent's hospital, Dublin, had been attempting a Tipps procedure - in which the catheter was put into the vein in her neck so it could be passed down to her liver where it would relieve fluid build-up.
But the shunt was inadvertently inserted into the artery instead, specialist registrar Dr Fergal Donellan told the inquest.
Because her liver condition made her susceptible to heavy bleeding, she could not simply have the shunt removed, but had to undergo surgery.
The nun, from the Convent of Mercy, Enniskillen, died three days after the chest surgery as a result of sepsis and pneumonia.
The coroner, Dr Brian Farrell, said the Tipps procedure had not directly led to Sister McLoughlin's death, as the post mortem examination showed there had been no haemorrhaging at the time of insertion of the shunt or later on.
But she did have an additional burden on her system of the thoracic surgery because of the Tipps procedure, he said.
"The pathologist was satisfied that there was no haemorrhage or other complications from the procedure," he said.
"She did not die directly as a result of the procedure, but because she had to have a thoracotomy, and was in the intensive care unit in a weakened state.
The inquest heard how Sister McLoughlin was suffering from advanced chronic liver disease.
PA