Also known as: Brain aneurysm
Meredith Grey performs her first aneurysm clipping surgery as lead surgeon, a critical milestone procedure involving placing a clip across the neck of an intracranial aneurysm to prevent rupture. Derek oversees as attending and there is conflict over which clip size to use.
Also known as: Heart valve disease
Ruth Bennet is scheduled for mitral valve replacement but develops acute appendicitis overnight. Teddy Altman ends up performing an open appendectomy instead of the planned valve surgery due to the patient's COPD and cardiac condition.
Also known as: Inflamed appendix
Complication discovered in a cardiac patient scheduled for mitral valve replacement. The appendicitis is initially missed by interns and becomes a teaching moment about fundamentals. Requires open appendectomy due to patient's COPD.
Also known as: Intestinal ischemia
Sam Kenton undergoes his third bowel resection surgery for chronic mesenteric ischemia nonresponsive to revascularization. Alex Karev uses fluorescein dye to identify viable bowel but finds extensive necrosis. Patient dies of septic shock post-operatively due to insufficient viable bowel remaining.
Jackson Avery is assigned to repair a cleft lip on a 3-month-old infant. Robbins overrides his plan for a straight-line repair and has Mark Sloan perform a Millard rotation technique instead to prevent lip shortening over time.
Also known as: COPD
Pre-existing condition in the mitral valve patient that necessitates an open rather than laparoscopic appendectomy when she develops appendicitis.
Also known as: Torn knee cartilage
April Kepner is scheduled to perform a meniscus repair but has to postpone it to teach a skills lab and assist on other cases. Callie Torres eventually performs the surgery herself.
Also known as: Disconnected esophagus
A 3-month-old patient scheduled for esophageal atresia repair surgery. Alex Karev turns down this case in favor of an easier bowel resection to pad his board scores.