Two families are continuing to live every parent’s worst nightmare following what they thought would be routine tonsillectomies at Guthrie Towanda Memorial Hospital in Towanda, Pennsylvania.
On February 20, 2019, Allie Yackel of Elmira, New York, who was six years old at the time, had her tonsils and adenoids removed by Dr. Arvinder Uppal, who was working at the time as a Guthrie otolaryngologist. “At first we were told everything was okay,” said Becca Yackel, Allie’s mother. “But it was quickly evident that something was very wrong.”
According to a civil complaint filed today in the United States District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania, Yackel became hypoxic with low oxygen saturation and was unable to be properly extubated at the end of surgery. Later that day she was taken by ambulance to Upstate University Hospital’s Pediatric Intensive Care Unit in Syracuse, New York, where neurologists determined Yackel had suffered a brainstem stroke during surgery. Yackel remained at Upstate University Hospital for several months where she underwent a tracheostomy and placement of a feeding tube and received intensive rehabilitative treatment.
On February 27, 2019, exactly one week after Allie’s surgery, Aasen May of Newfield, New York, who was five years old at the time, had her tonsils and adenoids removed by Dr. Uppal.
The complaint states that, as with Allie, Aasen seemed fine until providers found she was unable to breathe on her own without intubation. Taken to the Pediatric Critical Care Unit at Geisinger Medical Center in Danville, Pennsylvania, Aasen was also diagnosed with a brainstem stroke and had to undergo a tracheostomy and placement of a feeding tube.
“Even though it has been eighteen months since all of this started, I still feel like we will wake up one day and find it isn’t real,” said Shelby Sansouci, Aasen’s mother.
The complaint, filed by Elmira lawyer Christina Sonsire, alleges Dr. Uppal caused Yackel and May to suffer catastrophic brain injuries after he injected Marcaine with Epinephrine into their posterior pharyngeal walls to a depth within the adenoid region at the end of surgery.
“Our allegation, after consulting with medical experts in the field of pediatric otolaryngology, is that Dr. Uppal injected Marcaine with Epinephrine, a local anesthetic, far too deeply into their adenoid beds, causing both girls to suffer brainstem bleeds and profound long-term neurological consequences,” Sonsire explained. “These are extraordinarily unusual injuries that require conduct far outside the standard of medical care.”
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania’s Bureau of Professional and Occupational Affairs recently filed a formal disciplinary action against Dr. Uppal in which it also alleges the neurological injuries suffered by Yackal and May were caused by Dr. Uppal’s negligent injections of Marcaine with Epinephrine into the girls’ adenoid beds at the end of surgery.
“Although we allege the injuries were caused by Dr. Uppal’s negligent injections, the failure of the Guthrie system to properly investigate what caused Allie to suffer such an unusual surgical injury before Dr. Uppal was permitted to operate on Aasen also gives rise to several causes of action, including claims for punitive damages,” stated Sonsire.
The civil complaint and disciplinary filing by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania claim the failures to investigate how Yackel’s injury occurred before May’s surgery violate the standard of care within the medical profession.
Unfortunately, both girls suffered life-altering injuries, Sonsire said.
“The good news is that Allie and Aasen are here with us today. However, Aasen still relies on a tracheostomy to breathe, and both girls have suffered what tragically appear to be permanent and very significant speech, balance and vision problems as a result of their brain injuries,” Sonsire said.
Becca Yackel and Shelby Sansouci credit social media for helping them find each other. “Becca messaged me after a family member forwarded her a post she had seen about Aasen,” said Sansouci. “I still am stunned but so incredibly grateful that we found each other. Our families have been living similar nightmares since the surgeries. Having someone who truly understands has helped us so much.”
“Finding Shelby was a blessing as we have been able to share information and support each other, but it makes me so sad to know another family is going through this,” said Becca Yackel. “Living with a tracheostomy is really tough for Aasen,” said Sansouci. “She needs a one-onone nurse at all times for the limited occasions when she is able to attend school, and she has had several medical emergencies because of it. We just take things day by day. It’s the only way we can get by.”
“Never in a million years did I think my beautiful baby girl would be permanently brain injured like this from a tonsillectomy,” said Becca Yackel. “We try to only focus on positive, but I can’t help thinking about the incredible impact this has and will continue to have on her life.”
In incredible twists of fate, last summer Becca Yackel and her husband Brad learned they were expecting a baby and that their due date was February 20, 2020, one year to the day of Allie’s surgery. “To say we were shocked would be a gross understatement,” Brad Yackel said. “Our son Corbin was born on February 21st. The past year and a half has been filled with so many extreme highs and lows for us. It is often hard for me to believe it all really happened.”
This summer it was Shelby and Luke Sansouci’s turn to be shocked when they learned they are expecting a baby boy this February. “Our families are connected to each other and to the month of February in the most unusual ways,” said Sansouci. “Learning we are having a baby has brought so much joy to Aasen. We know far too well that every day we have with our children is a gift.”
