My son was given 'unnecessary' surgery at age 2 - it went wrong and he's been on life support for six years

A little boy has been in a vegetative state for six years after his brain was deprived of oxygen during a surgery his family believes was unnecessary. Carlos Blanco, now eight, was born with subglottic stenosis, a narrow airway that can cause infants to produce a whistling sound while breathing or shortness of breath. Carlos' mother is suing the hospital, Memorial Medical Center in Las Cruces, New Mexico, and Dr Owens, an otolaryngologist who recommended and carried out the operation, for medical malpractice. According to a 2012 study in JAMA, the success rate for dilation procedures for subglottic stenosis in children — which Carlos received — is around 70 percent. The above graphic from the Cleveland Clinic shows a normal airway and then one with subglottic stenosis Dr Ida added: 'In general, most people who delay end up getting the intervention for subglottic stenosis.