Also known as: Heart failure
Louise, a 37-year-old woman with Down syndrome, presents with respiratory failure due to severe cardiomyopathy requiring heart transplant. The episode centers on Mark Greene and Anna Del Amico's efforts to get her on the transplant list, only to have her mother refuse the surgery based on religious faith and concerns about Louise's future care.
Also known as: Trisomy 21
Louise's Down syndrome becomes central to the ethical dilemma when the Transplant Committee initially denies her access to the heart transplant list based on her intellectual disability and ability to comply with post-operative care, raising questions about medical discrimination.
Also known as: Dying bowel
An elderly woman with atrial fibrillation presents with abdominal pain initially misdiagnosed as congestive heart failure. Carter correctly identifies mesenteric artery embolism causing ischemic bowel and performs his first mesenteric embolectomy under supervision.
Also known as: A-fib
Patient's pre-existing atrial fibrillation leads to thrombus formation and subsequent mesenteric artery embolism, serving as the underlying cause of her surgical emergency.
Also known as: CF
An 18-year-old patient with end-stage cystic fibrosis on a ventilator decides on his birthday to be removed from life support. Doug Ross honors his wishes and extubates him so he can leave the hospital with his girlfriend.
Also known as: Inflamed appendix
Referenced as Benton's recent appendectomy performed by Carter. Benton returns to work and deals with post-operative recovery while Carter shows off the surgical specimen and photographs of the incision.