Doctor considered amputating leg to save teen’s life: inquest
The infectious diseases specialist has told a NSW coroner there was little he could to save Alex Braes whose sepsis likely stemmed from an infected toe
An infectious diseases specialist has told an inquest he was considering amputation to save the life of a gravely ill teenager he was treating at a rural hospital, but that the only option was to fly him elsewhere.
The doctor was considering amputating 18-year-old Alex Braes’ leg after he went into septic shock in Broken Hill Base Hospital, NSW, on 21 September 2017.
Mr Braes deteriorated while lying in a “non-acute” bed in the ED about midday, having been driven to hospital in crippling pain by his father because no ambulances were available.
The doctor, who led the team treating the unstable teenager, said he suspected flesh-eating disease or necrotising fasciitis was causing the sepsis.
