Hongkonger who died after lung operation had lethal level of anaesthetic in blood, forensic pathologist tells inquest
Ricky Ho Kam-chuen, 64, died at Hong Kong Baptist Hospital in 2013 following procedure by cardiac surgery specialist Anthony Yim Ping-chuen, best known as the doctor of late Canto-pop lyricist James Wong
A man who died following a lung operation was found to have had a lethal level of anaesthetic in his bloodstream, a forensic pathologist told an inquest on Friday.
Ricky Ho Kam-chuen, 64, died at Hong Kong Baptist Hospital in Kowloon Tong in 2013 following a pleurodesis procedure performed by cardiac surgery specialist Anthony Yim Ping-chuen. Yim is best known for being the doctor of late Canto-pop lyricist James Wong.
The medical procedure required an injection of a mixture of lidocaine, an anaesthetic, and sterile talc powder, in order to spark irritation to close off the space between layers in the lungs to cure the pneumothorax Ho suffered from.
Forensic pathologist Poon Wai-ming testified on Friday that his autopsy found a lethal level of lidocaine in the deceased’s blood, leading him to conclude the “adverse effect” of the substance directly caused the man’s death.
He told the Coroner’s Court, which was trying to determine the cause of death, that the level of anaesthetic reached 11 micrograms per millilitre in the man’s blood, twice the maximum therapeutic level of five.
The known lethal level ranged from 10 to 25 micrograms per millilitre, he said, according to figures from the International Association of Forensic Toxicologists.