WINNIPEG — The mother of a Winnipeg man says he's on life support after complications from having a wisdom tooth removed.
Angela Steele says Mason Woods had a wisdom tooth extracted on Feb. 27 and he was pleased that surgery went well.
Steele says the 23-year-old Woods went back to the doctor on March 4 because the swelling hadn’t gone down and he was out of pain medication.
She says the doctor asked her son if he’d been taking antibiotics, but she says Woods wasn't given a prescription for antibiotics, only for pain medication.
Steele says he was put on antibiotics, had a “cleanup” procedure and another oral surgery to remove the infection, and then had to have part of his skull removed to reduce swelling.
The Winnipeg Regional Health Authority says it won't discuss details of the case publicly but says it's doing everything it can to help the patient.
“I am not aware of what went wrong, but something went wrong that a kid had one tooth out two weeks ago, and today he’s on life support fighting for his life, and a third of his skull has been removed," Steele said.
Steele says doctors told her Woods will have to have several more surgeries.
"We are devastated to hear about the experience of this patient and his family," the authority said in a statement.
"All surgeries, including dental surgeries, do carry a small risk of infection and it seems that in this case, the infection had progressed to become quite severe. We are doing everything we can to provide this patient with the care he needs in hospital right now."
For now, Steele said she and her family are focused on getting Woods healthy.
“I just want my son to live.”
Steele wants people to know they need to be more diligent after having surgery.
“If something doesn’t feel 100 per cent right, they need to jump up and down, you know, and make sure that they’re being heard and seen. Not just trying to suck it up because it’s a wisdom tooth and it’s a little swollen and it’ll be OK.”
