5-Year-Old Girl Dies of ‘Very Rare Complication’ Following Routine Tonsil Operation: ‘Our Magical Little Princess’

A five-year-old girl from Cornwall, England, died after what was expected to be a routine operation to remove her tonsils and adenoids.

Amber Milnes died at the Royal Cornwall Hospital on April 9, 2023, four days after undergoing surgery.

According to reports from the BBC, paediatric pathologist Dr. Andrew Bamber told an inquest at Cornwall Coroner’s Court on Wednesday, Nov. 26, that Amber died from “a severe bleed from a ruptured vessel at the surgery site.” Senior coroner Andrew Cox described the complication as a recognized but very rare risk.

The Guardian reports that Amber had Cyclical Vomiting Syndrome (CVS), a condition that causes sudden, repeated episodes of intense nausea and vomiting, as described by the Mayo Clinic.

Amber’s parents, Sereta and Lewis Milnes, questioned why their daughter was not kept in hospital overnight after the operation, given her underlying condition.

Cox told the court he shared their concerns, saying that the possibility of CVS being triggered by the procedure was foreseeable and that it might have been more appropriate for Amber to stay in hospital for closer monitoring. He added that once her vomiting began, she should have been readmitted without delay.

The BBC also reports that Cox said surgeon Kel Anyanwu ought to have sought advice from colleagues more familiar with CVS, as he had limited knowledge of the condition. That lack of specialist input, Cox suggested, may have influenced the decisions about when to discharge Amber and whether to bring her back in sooner.

However, as reported by The Guardian, Cox said he could not state with certainty that Amber’s death would have been avoided even if she had remained in hospital overnight or been readmitted earlier.

Amber, who lived with her family in the village of St. Just in Roseland, underwent the operation on April 5, 2023, to help treat sleep apnea. The Mayo Clinic describes sleep apnea as a serious sleep disorder in which a person’s breathing repeatedly stops and starts during the night.

Amber was discharged within hours of the procedure. She began vomiting in the early hours of April 6. According to evidence heard in court and reported by The Guardian, her parents called the hospital and were told to call back if she did not improve. After she had vomited around 20 times, they took her back to the hospital at about 10 p.m. on April 6. On April 9, Amber developed an infection at the surgical site, which then began to hemorrhage, leading to her death.

In a statement read to the court and reported by the BBC, Amber’s mother, Sereta, described her daughter as their “magical little princess” who lit up their home. She said that “Bam,” as Amber was affectionately known, had completed their family and that life without her now feels like a puzzle that will never be finished.

In a written statement, the NHS Cornwall and Isles of Scilly Integrated Care Board said it fully accepted the coroner’s findings.

Dr. Merry Kane, chief medical officer at the hospital, said: “Our hearts go out to Amber’s family; the death of a child is utterly devastating. We have all learned from Amber’s tragic death.” She added that since Amber’s death, new guidelines have been introduced for the care of children with sleep apnea following surgery to remove tonsils and adenoids, and that the hospital will continue efforts to increase awareness and understanding of CVS.