A 21-year-old student passed away after suffering from a twisted stomach - a condition that is generally only seen in those over 80.
Melissa Zoglie, from Brighton, visited A&E back in April last year after experiencing severe stomach pain, but was initially diagnosed with a stomach ulcer.
However, she collapsed the next day and was rushed into hospital where she underwent emergency surgery.
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Medics operating on Melissa found that she had gastric volvulus, where the stomach twists and blood supply to the organ is cut off and essentially ‘dies’.
An inquest being held at Woodvale in Brighton heard from Dr James Piper, senior clinical fellow in emergency medicine at the Royal Sussex County Hospital, who said he thought she may have been suffering from gastritis or food poisoning when she first arrived at hospital on 17 April.
He said that she told him she was ‘feeling a little better’ and was able to sit up and sip water. Dr Piper said he ‘did not have concerns’ before sending Melissa home with medication for a stomach ulcer, The Argus reports.
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The doctor told the inquest he didn’t believe she needed surgery or a CT scan; he said: “There was no medical indication to do one at the time.”
The inquest heard from three doctors who all said that gastric volvulus was ‘exceptionally rare in a woman of Melissa’s age’.
Melissa was readmitted the following day after collapsing at home and went into cardiac arrest before a CT could be carried.
Medics decided to do emergency surgery to try and ‘figure out what was going on’.
Gnananandan Janakan, lower GI and major trauma consultant surgeon at the Royal Sussex, told the inquest that it was ‘extremely rare’ to perform surgery while CPR was ongoing, but that they did so in the hopes of saving her life.
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After beginning surgery, Janakan said he realised Melissa’s stomach was ‘completely dead’ due to the twist.
A spokesperson for University Hospitals Sussex NHS Foundation Trust said: "Senior clinicians used their best judgement to diagnose the symptoms she presented with, but tragically Melissa had an extraordinarily rare condition, especially for someone so young.”
The coroner concluded the student died of natural causes.
"Melissa Zoglie died on April 18, 2023, at the Royal Sussex County Hospital from a strangulated gastric volvulus which caused a gastric haemorrhage and perforation," the coroner's report stated.
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"The evidence was that there was no clinical indication for further
investigations at that time."
Featured Image Credit: Family handout