Med Board Fines Anesthesiologist After Patient Death, Revokes Two Licenses

A Trumbull anesthesiologist who mistakenly administered a fatal dose of Lidocaine to a patient during surgery in May 2013 was reprimanded and fined $7,500 Tuesday by the state Medical Examining Board. Dr. Sandra Congdon made the mistake while the patient was undergoing surgery at the Surgery Center of Fairfield County in Trumbull, state Department of Public Health records show. When the patient’s blood pressure dropped during the procedure, Congdon inadvertently administered the anesthetic Lidocaine instead of Hespan, which is used to expand blood plasma when a patient goes into shock, records show. The patient showed no pulse and received cardiac life support before being transferred to the emergency department at St. Vincent’s Medical Center in Bridgeport, DPH records show.