Deaths after tonsil surgery ‘very rare’: McMaster pediatric surgery chief [Video]

The chief of pediatric surgery at McMaster Children’s Hospital says the deaths of two children following tonsil and adenoid surgeries at his hospital are “tragic” and “very rare.”

“We are deeply saddened by their deaths and offer our sincere condolences to their families,” Dr. Devin Peterson said in a video posted online Friday — two days after the Hamilton hospital announced the children’s deaths and plans for an external review.

One child died the day after their surgery and the other died nine days after having the procedure, a statement on Hamilton Health Sciences’ website said, noting the hospital had paused all but emergency pediatric tonsil and adenoid surgeries as of Tuesday.

The surgeries will not resume until the external review is completed, Peterson said.

“McMaster Children’s Hospital is a leading pediatric centre and we take this responsibility very seriously,” he said.

According to the Canadian Society of Otolaryngology, about …