Parents of medical student says they have been left in the dark by Brazilian health officials after jaw surgery left her in a vegetative state

Brazilian parents are still searching for answers, a year after their daughter underwent oral surgery and was left in a vegetative state.

Larissa Moraes dreamed of becoming a doctor, but those were dreams stormed on March 16, 2023 when he underwent orthognathic surgery, which corrected the positioning of the upper jaw and lower jaw.

The 31-year-old underwent the surgery based on the recommendation of dentists who had treated her since childhood, her father, Ricardo Moraes, told news channel G1.

She spoke to professors at her medical school and researched surgeons before deciding to undergo the operation at Santa Casa de Misericórdia in the southeastern city of Juiz de Fora.

Ricardo Moraes said she did not come out of the surgery well and went into cardiac arrest.

Larissa Moraes’ dentists advised her to undergo orthognathic surgery, which requires correcting the positioning of the upper jaw and lower jaw

He remembered watching helplessly as Larissa Moraes was taken from the operating room to another room.

“Her eye was turned, but I thought it was normal because of the operation,” said Ricardo Moraes. “I walked ahead so I could open the bedroom door so they could come in, but I couldn’t get in because they asked me to stay outside.”

He saw other medical staff enter the room and decided to ask for an update on Larissa Moraes’ condition when he saw one of the doctors massaging her heart.

“Then the nurse came to reassure me that she was fine, her heartbeat was already back,” he said.

Larissa Moraes remained under supervision in intensive care for a month after she developed pneumonia and a urinary tract infection.

She remained in her hospital room until March, when she was eventually sent home.

The family has so far spent $52,000 to have nurses monitor her 24 hours a day.

“We have nurses 24 hours a day, she has to undergo physiotherapy and speech therapy every day, she receives nutrition and medicine through a tube,” said Ricardo Moraes. ‘She also has no control over her physiological needs and has to wear a diaper.’

The Minas Gerais Public Prosecutor’s Office opened an investigation in September 2023 after the civil police collected statements from the parties involved, including the surgeon and the anesthesiologist.

Larissa Moraes received her degree in pharmacy from Juiz de Fora Federal University at the age of 26 and was in the early stages of medical training at Rio de Janeiro State University prior to the surgery.

Larissa Moraes’ parents have spent $52,000 since March to ensure nurses watch over her 24 hours a day

Larissa Moraes’ parents hired private investigators who found that ‘failures were evident at several points in the medical care provided at the hospital, from anesthesia monitoring to post-CA (cardiac arrest) care, contributing to the observed neurological outcome’

Larissa Moraes’ parents tried to schedule meetings with Santa Casa de Misericórdia staff but were repeatedly turned away.

‘I tried to make an appointment with the hospital to understand what had happened, but they canceled and rescheduled the appointment. I asked for camera footage to find out what happened, but they didn’t give it to me,” said Ricardo Moraes.

Fed up with being stoned by the medical facility, the family hired two private medical experts, who found it difficult to determine whether the surgical team had followed all the necessary steps to perform the oral surgery.

The research report found that ‘failures were evident at several points in the medical care provided in the hospital, from anesthesia monitoring to post-CA (cardiac arrest) care, contributing to the observed neurological outcome’.

Ricardo Moraes recalled that Larissa Mores grew up dependent and “did everything in her own way, not in a disobedient way, but she managed to convince us to do everything she wanted.”

Now he and his wife are tasked with making sure her needs are met.

Larissa Moraes received her pharmacy degree from Juiz de Fora Federal University and was in the early stages of medical training at Rio de Janeiro State University prior to the uneventful surgery.

“She really liked research and learned a lot of new things,” Ricardo Moraes said. “So she always said she was interested in something new she was studying.”