24-Year-Old Dies Due to Complications While Having His Wisdom Teeth Removed

Friends and family are questioning what happened when Marek Lapinski's wisdom teeth were removed that led to his death due to complications from the surgery.

According to a report released by American Medical Response, Lapinski woke up coughing during the procedure and was then given propofol, a powerful anesthetic, causing him to fall back asleep. 

The 24-year-old then went into cardiac arrest. An ambulance was promptly called, transferring him to the hospital where he died.

Lapinski's sister, a nurse, said her brother was given at least six different sedatives by the surgeon and may have gone without oxygen for as long as 10 minutes.

"He wasn't going in for open heart surgery or something," she told KSDK.

She further told KSWB-TV that he was extremely nervous going into the operation. 

"He was so scared to get this done," she said. "That morning, he texted me and said, 'I'm going in. I'll call you when I'm out.' I never heard from him again."

While no comments have come from the oral surgeon Dr. Steven Paul, his attorney stated in a relase that the doctor has "state of the art services monitoring for his patients" and that "no surgical process is without risk." Furthermore, the statement adds that "all standard protocols were followed."

Lapinski's mother, April, did say that Paul came to the hospital to apologize.

Though, as she told ABC, "He didn't ahve any other explanations for me." What's more, the mother said, "Now we wake up every morning and can't believe it," she said. "It's just one big bad dream."

The family is currently awaiting the results of the autopsy though a pulmonary doctor at the hospital said Lapinski may have suffered an overdose, according to April.

The anesthetic is the same drug adminsitered to Michael Jackson shortly before his death in 2009.