ABSTRACT

Retrospective studies about perioperative deaths show that most of deaths are due to the patients’ underlying disease and surgical intervention. Death cases solely due to perioperative anesthesia are observed far less. Although autopsy has a limited role in determining the cause of death in autopsies performed for anesthesia malpractice allegations, it can show that anesthe-sia has no role in the results by revealing others factors if fac-tors such as patient and/ or surgery have a role. There are a lot of studies showing that both allegations and antemortem diag-nosis might change after autopsy. Any malpractice due to anesthesia or surgery practice as well as any condition other than the pathology leading to the operation and previously de-termined pathological condition should be questioned. In au-topsies performed for malpractice allegations due to anesthesi-a, although autopsy has limitations in assessment of cause of de-ath in cases of which anesthesia is suspected to be responsible, it has undoubtedly a very important place in anesthesia deaths in clarifying factors related to patient and surgery which cons-titute the dynamics of perioperative period.

Keywords: Autopsy, anesthesia, medical malpractice