Jahi McMath, a 13-year-old girl from Northern California, went in to Oakland Children’s Hospital for a routine procedure to have her tonsils removed and came out of surgery brain dead, reports the San Jose Mercury News.  After the procedure, she suddenly went into cardiac arrest and died while in the hospital recovering from the surgery, but the medical team was able to bring her back.  Jahi is now brain dead and currently on life support.

Jahi suffered from sleep apnea and, according to doctors, removing her tonsils would mitigate her issues.  Nailah Winkfield, Jahi’s mother, noticed clots sliding out of her mouth and has been collecting them for the medical team to measure.  Oakland Children’s Hospital has stated that any surgery carries risks and they are investigating what happened in this situation to result in this tragedy.

According to Time Magazine, Jahi is not expected to recover.  Her family has stated that the hospital is pushing them to take Jahi off of life support.  However, they disagree with this course of action, wanting the hospital to keep her alive.  Nailah has stated that she will not be leaving her daughter’s side and will not allow them to pull the plug on her daughter.

Removing tonsils or tonsil tissue is an acceptable course of action for treating sleep apnea.  A 2011 story on NPR discussed the case of 32-year-old Daniel Sheiner, who suffered from a severe case of sleep apnea.  While being overweight or obese is the biggest risk factor, Sheiner was a healthy weight and his condition persisted.  Larger tonsils and tonsil tissue at the back of his throat were enlarged, obstructing his breathing.

The normal course of action starts with non-invasive measures.  First, a person should try to lose weight, which Sheiner did not need to do.  Then, a person should reduce alcohol consumption and try a nighttime breathing machine called a Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP) machine.  Sheiner eventually opted for surgery, but he received a new version completed by robots.  The robotic arms, controlled remotely, get into the smaller area in the back of the both to precisely cut obstructive tissue.

Medline Plus describes sleep apnea as a common disorder that causes breathing to stop or get very shallow. Breathing pauses can last from a few seconds to minutes, occurring 30 times or more an hour.  According to the Mayo Clinic, a tonsillectomy is the surgical removal of the tonsils, two oval-shaped pads of tissue at the back of the throat.