Also known as: Burst aneurysm
A patient presents with stroke symptoms from a ruptured aneurysm in the anterior communicating artery. After surgical clipping, imaging reveals a second unruptured aneurysm in the basilar artery requiring endovascular repair. The case becomes complicated when it's discovered the patient wasn't taking his prescribed medications, leading to the rupture.
Also known as: Intimate partner violence
The aneurysm patient's wife is revealed to be a domestic violence victim who initially refuses consent for life-saving surgery. The team discovers she has been subjected to abuse by her husband and must navigate the ethical complexity of obtaining consent while protecting her and her son.
Also known as: Acid burn
A 30-year-old woman presents with what appears to be a simple hand burn from a cooking accident, but the case evolves into a complex multi-system toxicity from dimethyl sulfate exposure during illegal perfume manufacturing.
Also known as: Wood alcohol poisoning
The patient develops methanol toxicity from exposure to dimethyl sulfate, causing lung inflammation, abdominal pain, and eventually cardiac injury. The diagnosis is complicated by the patient's reluctance to reveal the true cause of exposure and religious objections to ethanol treatment.
Also known as: Aspiration pneumonia
Severe lung inflammation from inhaling caustic chemicals (dimethyl sulfate) leads to weakened bronchial walls that rupture during a routine bronchoscopy, causing life-threatening hemorrhage and requiring emergency surgery.
Also known as: Heart injury from electrocution
The patient experiences what initially appears to be a heart attack but is actually myocardial injury from systemic caustic chemical exposure causing progressive tissue damage throughout her body.
Also known as: Punctured airway
During bronchoscopy, the scope breaches the patient's bronchial wall due to chemical thinning of the tissue, causing hemorrhage requiring emergency surgical repair. This complication drives a subplot about medical error investigation and the personal dynamics between Melendez and Jessica.
Also known as: Panic attacks
The patient experiences what she believes is a heart attack after her hand burn, with chest pain and difficulty breathing, which is initially attributed to a panic attack before the true chemical exposure is discovered.