Also known as: Difficulty swallowing
Richard Webber is recovering from pancreatic debridement surgery and develops dysphagia with laryngeal edema, refusing an NG tube despite losing weight and having low albumin. Eventually Shane Ross places the tube against his wishes, causing major conflict.
Also known as: Swollen throat
Part of Richard's post-surgical complications contributing to his inability to swallow safely.
Also known as: Knife wound
A female baseball player is impaled by multiple fragments of a shattered baseball bat, causing puncture wounds to the chest, subclavian artery hemorrhage, and ultimately a fatal stroke from an underlying coagulation disorder.
Also known as: Wrist fracture
Part of the baseball player's injuries from the bat fragments, requiring splinting.
Also known as: Bleeding from major artery under collarbone
The patient develops massive bleeding from the subclavian artery that requires cutting the clavicle for access, leading to conflict between April and Callie over surgical approach.
Also known as: Collapsed lung
The patient has decreased breath sounds on the right side from chest trauma, requiring a chest tube.
Also known as: Blood clotting disorder
An underlying coagulation disorder causes the patient to develop a fatal stroke during surgery despite successful repair of her injuries.
Also known as: Brain attack
The patient suffers a fatal stroke during surgery due to rapid clot formation from her coagulation disorder.
Also known as: Leaky heart valve
A 17-year-old with a history of infant heart transplant develops mitral valve failure. Cristina attempts valve replacement but encounters too much scar tissue and arrhythmias, requiring the patient to be placed on the transplant list instead.
Also known as: Heart transplant recipient
The patient received a heart transplant as an infant 17 years ago, and the transplanted heart is now failing with significant scarring that prevents valve repair.
Also known as: V-tach
The patient develops repeated episodes of V-tach during attempted valve surgery, ultimately forcing abandonment of the procedure.
A kindergarten teacher with extensive facial scarring is scheduled for pro bono facial reconstruction surgery, which becomes a point of conflict over hospital budget priorities.