Brazilian parents are still searching for answers a year after their daughter underwent jaw surgery and was left in a vegetative state.
Larissa Moraes dreamed of being a doctor, but those dreams were discontinuous on March 16, 2023 when he underwent orthognathic surgery, which involves correcting the position of the upper jaw and lower jaw.
The 31-year-old woman underwent surgery on the recommendation of the dentists who treated her since she was a child, her father, Ricardo Moraes, told the G1 newspaper.
He spoke with professors at his medical school and researched surgeons before deciding to have the surgery at the Santa Casa de Misericórdia in the southeastern city of Juiz de Fora.
Ricardo Moraes said she came out of surgery not feeling well and went into cardiac arrest.
Larissa Moraes’ dreams of being a doctor were dashed in March 2023 when she underwent jaw surgery and went into cardiac arrest.
Larissa Moraes’ dentists recommended orthognathic surgery, which requires correcting the position of the upper jaw and lower jaw.
He remembered watching helplessly as Larissa Moraes was taken out of the operating room and taken to another room.
“His eye was turned out, but I thought it was normal because of the surgery,” Ricardo Moraes said. “I walked forward so I could open the bedroom door for them to come in, but I couldn’t get in because they asked me to stay outside.”
He saw other medical staff enter the room and decided to get an update on Larissa Moraes’ condition when he noticed one of the doctors massaging her heart.
“Then the nurse came to assure me that he was okay, that his heart had started beating again,” he said.
Larissa Moraes remained under surveillance in the intensive care unit for a month after developing pneumonia and a urinary tract infection.
She remained in her hospital room until March, when she was finally sent home.
So far, the family has spent $52,000 to ensure nurses watch over her 24 hours a day.
“We have nurses 24 hours a day, she needs to receive physiotherapy and speech therapy every day, she is fed and medicated through a tube,” said Ricardo Moraes. “She also has no control over her physiological needs and she needs to wear a diaper.”
The Public Ministry of Minas Gerais opened an investigation in September 2023 after the Civil Police collected statements from those involved, including the surgeon and the anesthetist.
Larissa Moraes graduated in pharmacy from the Juiz de Fora Federal University at the age of 26 and before the surgery was in the beginning stages of medical school at the State University of Rio de Janeiro.
Larissa Moraes’ parents have spent $52,000 since March for nurses to care for her 24 hours a day
Larissa Moraes’ parents hired private investigators who verified that ‘failures were evident at different points of the hospital medical care provided, from anesthetic monitoring to post-CA care (cardiorespiratory arrest), which contributed to the observed neurological outcome.’
Larissa Moraes’ parents attempted to arrange meetings with staff at the Holy House of Mercy and were repeatedly rejected.
‘I tried to schedule a meeting with the hospital to understand what happened, they canceled and rescheduled it. I asked for images from the cameras to know what had happened, but they didn’t give them to me,’ said Ricardo Moraes.
The family grew tired of being hindered by the medical center and hired two private medical experts, who found it difficult to determine whether the surgical team had followed all the necessary steps to perform the jaw surgery.
The investigation report found that “failures were evident at different points of the hospital medical care provided, from anesthetic monitoring to post-CA (cardiopulmonary arrest) care, which contributed to the observed neurological outcome.”
Ricardo Moraes recalled that Larissa Mores grew up dependent and ‘doing everything her way, not disobedient, but she knew how to convince us to do everything she wanted.’
Now he and his wife are tasked with making sure their needs are taken care of.
Larissa Moraes received her pharmacy degree from the Juiz de Fora Federal University and was in the early stages of medical school at Rio de Janeiro State University before the uneventful surgery.
“She really liked researching, learning a lot of new things,” Ricardo Moraes said. “So she always said that she was interested in something new that she was studying.”