In Surgery: Autopsies and Surgery, When Is An Autopsy Done

The question of an autopsy after surgery is a delicate one. When a patient dies during a surgical procedure, unless the procedure was done as a last ditch effort to save their life, the death is typically a shock to friends and family. For this reason, the fact that an autopsy may be necessary can be shocking and cause dismay or upset.

Generally speaking, if a patient dies during surgery, an autopsy is typically performed. This is done at the discretion of the local medical examiner (the physician who performs autopsies) or the coroner (the elected official who runs the medical examiners office who may or may not be a medical examiner himself).

Why should an autopsy even be considered? It is important for everyone involved, including the anesthesia provider and the surgeon to know what happened. Was the death a result of natural causes? What it caused by a reaction to anesthesia? Was there a surgical error that caused bleeding? There are many reasons that a patient could die during surgery and an autopsy is very likely to be necessary in determining the actual cause of death.

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