Why would John's Aorta burst right there and then on the operating table? - Sitcoms Online Message Boards

-Fan- · 09-23-2003, 07:54 PM

Think about this. John was joking and laughing before the surgens opened him up. obviously John had to be in pretty good shape to be like that before an operation. so why would John's aorta burst once they opened
his chest right then and there on the operating table? sounds like its the opening of John's chest is what caused this to happen. im wondering if they just left him alone maybe just maybe John would still be alive today. what a loss to the world that
may have been prevented with a better
hospital with better surgens.

nantucket_wings · 09-23-2003, 09:32 PM

in my opinion, the doctors did all that they could to save Johns life ... and if the doctors didnt go forward with the surgery the outcome would have had a greater potential, so in ending this post Id like to say that all this finger pointing and bashing of other people is not something Im pleased about and Im sure John and the Ritter family wouldnt be pleased about either.

-Fan- · 09-23-2003, 09:43 PM

Hey it was only a what if question.
2 out of 10.000 people get what happened to John. pretty rare

AngelofLaughter · 09-23-2003, 09:44 PM

It's called Aortic Dissection. When he was feeling sick on the set, it was because the blood in his aorta was building in the wall of his chest. When he was in the hospital, I doubt he was laughing and joking but he probably wasnt exactly in agonizing pain either. He probably was in pain though, because it is a very painful thing to go through. The wall would have eventually burst and he would have died even if they hadn't opened his chest. And they probably only opened his chest to try and revive him with electric shock. You cant clamp an aorta. So dont blame the doctors.

beckyc · 09-23-2003, 09:51 PM

why did this have to happen to him?

DetectiveGriffin · 09-23-2003, 09:52 PM

The thing about aneurysms is that when they go they go.
And aneurysms in the chest cavity dont always produce enough pain to give someone a lot of warning. I'm in Indiana and our governor died of one recently, his was in the brain and he probably had decent warning and severe blinding pain, the thing is he was away from home in a hotel room, so he probably laid down and went to bed, hoping the headache would be gone in the morning and when he got up to go to the bathroom, bam.

The aorta has more than one layer, and if these layers pull apart, that dissecting. So, this aneurysm isnt all the way through where its easily sealed, theres A LOT of blood accumulating where it's really not supposed to be, so its not being oxygenated so it can keep tissues alive and is probably growing in toxicity.

An aneurysm at the aorta - i mean, i dont know the exact site, i dont know if the media said, but the aorta is a giant artery that carries blood out of the heart and branches throughout the entire body - its the biggie. By the time he got attention, it may have been impossible to repair - especially if it was a large dissection.
You can apply pressure to an artery to reduce blood flow until it can be repaired, but if it was large - theres just not a ton you can do. You can't stop the artery that provides circulation to the entire body without risking tissue death in a matter of short minutes. If it was an aortic valve, the entire valve would have to be replaced. This is really specialized stuff.

Its very unfortunate, but its just something he was likely born with and may have been aggrevated by high blood pressure, which a lot of people have even when they do everything right.

People who have these kind of problems just don't have a very good prognosis and that's unfortunate. I don't imagine there was a lot the medical team could do to help him.

AngelofLaughter · 09-23-2003, 10:00 PM

Why John? Why such a wonderful person? All the jackasses in the world and John had to go.....I miss him so much.

pilotguy · 09-23-2003, 11:18 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by AngelofLaughter
Why John? Why such a wonderful person? All the jackasses in the world and John had to go.....I miss him so much.

I think that the above message pretty much sums up the way a lot of us are feeling right now....ANGRY!

When we first heard the news, most of us were is deep shock...then shock turned to sorrow...then sorrow turned to anger.....

Maybe that's why we're seeing so many angry messages here lately (and I'm guilty of posting them too)...."Those doctors screwed up", "that Emmy tribute stunk", "that "Three's Company" co-star is a terrible person and didn't treat John right", etc., etc., etc.....We're just so MAD that this terrible thing happened and took John away from us.

Eventually this anger will probably turn to acceptance, but the sadness of the whole situation will remain with us for a long time.

I'm no analyist or psychologist, but I really think that many of us are in "anger" mode right now.

-Fan- · 09-23-2003, 11:27 PM

Thanks for explaining that Griffin.
jesus that sounds like a painful
death. thankgod John was asleep when
he passed away.

Burley_Furley · 09-24-2003, 02:28 AM

With an aortic dissection, the type that it seems John had, you have to go into surgery or you'll die anyway. Especially, if its blocking blood supply to vital organs. Your chances of surviving are greater with surgery in that case. The surgery is very complex as Griffin mentioned earlier, it lasts 3-6 hours. Studies have shown that there's 15-20% mortality rate during surgery.

I wish John would have made it through the surgery. It's awful that this had to happen to him.

Austin Tripper · 09-24-2003, 04:25 AM

I'd love to know WHEN John got to the hospital (the time) & when did the actually START the surgery??????

Because I think they have a lawsuit on their hands..

John seemed to be for a pretty long time before they did anything.

Burley_Furley · 09-24-2003, 05:16 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Austin Tripper
I'd love to know WHEN John got to the hospital (the time) & when did the actually START the surgery??????

Because I think they have a lawsuit on their hands..

John seemed to be for a pretty long time before they did anything.

I don't know if there should be any lawsuits, although it would be interesting to know when he got to the hospital and what time they started his surgery.
There's alot of factors to concider, like the time it took to run the tests to come up with a diagnosis. After all, he went in thinking he had food poisoning. If him and his family didn't know of any heart problems, then they probably had to run numbers of tests to come up with a diagnosis. And then the time it took to stabilize him for surgery.
I just dont think that we have enough info to judge the hospital and their performance. That's up to his family to decide.

AngelofLaughter · 09-24-2003, 05:31 AM

Do you really think his wife will want to sue the people who were with John when he died? I think we need to forget about suing any doctors.

And for AustinTripper, he died at around 10:30 so he was wheeled into surgery around a quarter to ten. It didn't last long.

09-23-2003, 07:54 PM	#1
-Fan- Member Occasional Poster Join Date: Sep 21, 2003 Posts: 58	Why would John's Aorta burst right there and then on the operating table? Think about this. John was joking and laughing before the surgens opened him up. obviously John had to be in pretty good shape to be like that before an operation. so why would John's aorta burst once they opened his chest right then and there on the operating table? sounds like its the opening of John's chest is what caused this to happen. im wondering if they just left him alone maybe just maybe John would still be alive today. what a loss to the world that may have been prevented with a better hospital with better surgens.

09-23-2003, 09:32 PM	#2
nantucket_wings " Wing Nut " Senior Member Join Date: Apr 08, 2003 Location: Mansfield, Ohio Posts: 1,042	in my opinion, the doctors did all that they could to save Johns life ... and if the doctors didnt go forward with the surgery the outcome would have had a greater potential, so in ending this post Id like to say that all this finger pointing and bashing of other people is not something Im pleased about and Im sure John and the Ritter family wouldnt be pleased about either.
	__________________ Stace aka: Nantucket_Wings

09-23-2003, 09:44 PM	#4
AngelofLaughter Member Occasional Poster Join Date: Sep 20, 2003 Location: Brick, New Jersey Posts: 51	no It's called Aortic Dissection. When he was feeling sick on the set, it was because the blood in his aorta was building in the wall of his chest. When he was in the hospital, I doubt he was laughing and joking but he probably wasnt exactly in agonizing pain either. He probably was in pain though, because it is a very painful thing to go through. The wall would have eventually burst and he would have died even if they hadn't opened his chest. And they probably only opened his chest to try and revive him with electric shock. You cant clamp an aorta. So dont blame the doctors.
	__________________ <3 John Ritter...My Angel of Laughter <3

09-24-2003, 05:31 AM	#13
AngelofLaughter Member Occasional Poster Join Date: Sep 20, 2003 Location: Brick, New Jersey Posts: 51	s Do you really think his wife will want to sue the people who were with John when he died? I think we need to forget about suing any doctors. And for AustinTripper, he died at around 10:30 so he was wheeled into surgery around a quarter to ten. It didn't last long.

09-23-2003, 09:43 PM	#3
-Fan- Member Occasional Poster Join Date: Sep 21, 2003 Posts: 58	Hey it was only a what if question. 2 out of 10.000 people get what happened to John. pretty rare

09-23-2003, 09:51 PM	#5
beckyc beckyc Frequent Poster Join Date: May 27, 2003 Location: Canada Posts: 257	why did this have to happen to him?

09-23-2003, 09:52 PM	#6
DetectiveGriffin Sankontessou! Senior Member Join Date: Aug 08, 2001 Location: North Central Indiana Posts: 1,288	The thing about aneurysms is that when they go they go. And aneurysms in the chest cavity dont always produce enough pain to give someone a lot of warning. I'm in Indiana and our governor died of one recently, his was in the brain and he probably had decent warning and severe blinding pain, the thing is he was away from home in a hotel room, so he probably laid down and went to bed, hoping the headache would be gone in the morning and when he got up to go to the bathroom, bam. The aorta has more than one layer, and if these layers pull apart, that dissecting. So, this aneurysm isnt all the way through where its easily sealed, theres A LOT of blood accumulating where it's really not supposed to be, so its not being oxygenated so it can keep tissues alive and is probably growing in toxicity. An aneurysm at the aorta - i mean, i dont know the exact site, i dont know if the media said, but the aorta is a giant artery that carries blood out of the heart and branches throughout the entire body - its the biggie. By the time he got attention, it may have been impossible to repair - especially if it was a large dissection. You can apply pressure to an artery to reduce blood flow until it can be repaired, but if it was large - theres just not a ton you can do. You can't stop the artery that provides circulation to the entire body without risking tissue death in a matter of short minutes. If it was an aortic valve, the entire valve would have to be replaced. This is really specialized stuff. Its very unfortunate, but its just something he was likely born with and may have been aggrevated by high blood pressure, which a lot of people have even when they do everything right. People who have these kind of problems just don't have a very good prognosis and that's unfortunate. I don't imagine there was a lot the medical team could do to help him.

09-23-2003, 10:00 PM	#7
AngelofLaughter Member Occasional Poster Join Date: Sep 20, 2003 Location: Brick, New Jersey Posts: 51	Why John? Why such a wonderful person? All the jackasses in the world and John had to go.....I miss him so much.

09-23-2003, 11:27 PM	#9
-Fan- Member Occasional Poster Join Date: Sep 21, 2003 Posts: 58	Thanks for explaining that Griffin. jesus that sounds like a painful death. thankgod John was asleep when he passed away.

09-24-2003, 02:28 AM	#10
Burley_Furley TC Frequent Poster Join Date: Sep 18, 2003 Location: Seattle Posts: 325	With an aortic dissection, the type that it seems John had, you have to go into surgery or you'll die anyway. Especially, if its blocking blood supply to vital organs. Your chances of surviving are greater with surgery in that case. The surgery is very complex as Griffin mentioned earlier, it lasts 3-6 hours. Studies have shown that there's 15-20% mortality rate during surgery. I wish John would have made it through the surgery. It's awful that this had to happen to him.

09-24-2003, 04:25 AM	#11
Austin Tripper Jack Tripper is GOD! Forum Regular Join Date: Jul 17, 2001 Location: United States Posts: 614	I'd love to know WHEN John got to the hospital (the time) & when did the actually START the surgery?????? Because I think they have a lawsuit on their hands.. John seemed to be for a pretty long time before they did anything.