STOCKTON, CA - A Stockton mother is demanding answers after her four-year-old son died during a dental procedure at Children's Hospital and Research Center Oakland on Friday.
According to a recordnet.com article, Dominque Smith said she took her son Jermaine Harrison to the dentist to remove some rotten teeth and cap some others. But, something went horribly wrong when the dentist administered an oral anesthetic to calm the boy and reduce any pain from the procedure.
Doctors tried unsuccessfully to revive the boy for about 45 minutes, said his family.
Harrison was born with a hole in the wall separating the left and right ventricles of his heart. The condition required open-heart surgery about a year later, at which time surgeons installed a pacemaker.
Harrison's family said he responded well to the procedure and was "thriving and healthy" when they took him to Children's Hospital and Research Center Oakland on Friday.
According to family members, the hospital was well aware of Harrison's medical history, as it was where his open-heart procedure had been performed three years prior, and where he visited every six months for cardiology checkups.
Hospital spokespeople said they could not comment on the case without written consent from Harrison's family, which they have yet to receive.
An autopsy is scheduled to be performed in about a month, which was said to be standard procedure.
News10/KXTV