Lazarus Syndrome

April 22, 2011
‘Back from dead’ man hanging on to life
Star

BUTTERWORTH: The 65-year-old man who mysteriously came back to life after being declared medically dead some two hours earlier continues to fight on.

Doctors though are unable to determine yet if he would make a full recovery from his current comatose state, or if he would suffer from any lingering side effects.

Ng Swee Hock who has been admitted to the Seberang Jaya Hospital’s critical care unit since he was found to be breathing again, is now placed on a life support machine.

A specially selected panel of doctors who conducted several tests on Ng, are still waiting for the outcome of the tests to help them understand his condition better.

In the meantime, Ng’s family members are making frequent visits to the hospital, praying that he will recover.

It was reported that Ng was pronounced dead by doctors at the same hospital last Thursday after he had apparently stopped breathing while at home in Jalan Tok Elong, Tanah Liat, Bukit Mertajam.

Doctors then performed cardio pulmonary resuscitation (CPR) on him for 45 minutes but there was no immediate response.

He was pronounced dead at around 11am.

Oddly enough, Ng began to breathe again two-and-a-half hours later.

Hospital director Dr Sukumar Mahesan earlier said that an independent board of inquiry found out that his case was consistent with the Lazarus Phenomenon (a spontaneous return of circulation after failed attempts at resuscitation).

Occurrences of the syndrome are rare and the causes are not well understood.

As of June 2009, only 38 such cases have been reported worldwide.


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17 April 2011
Back-from-the-dead man is now stable

BUTTERWORTH - The 65-year-old man who came back to life after being dead for two-and-a-half hours on Thursday, in what is believed to be the first of its kind in the country, is in stable condition.

Ng Swee Hock, however, is still unconscious at the critical care unit (CCU) of the Seberang Jaya Hospital here.

“According to the state Health Department, the patient is still on a ventilator machine at the CCU,” Penang executive councillor Phee Boon Poh, who heads the state Health, Welfare, Caring Society and Environment committee, said yesterday.

Ng had stopped breathing at his home in Jalan Tok Elong, Tanah Liat in Bukit Mertajam, and was pronounced dead by doctors at the Seberang Jaya Hospital after he was admitted there at about 11am.

It was reported that although doctors did a CPR on him for 45 minutes, he did not respond.

However, Ng started to breathe again two-and-a-half hours after being pronounced dead.

Hospital director Dr Sukumar Mahesan said an independent board of inquiry into the case found it to be consistent with the Lazarus phenomenon (a spontaneous return of circulation after failed attempts at resuscitation).

Occurrences of the syndrome are rare and the causes are not well understood. There are only 38 cases in the world up to June 2009.

According to Wikipedia, one theory is the build-up of pressure in the chest as a result of CPR.

The relaxation of pressure after resuscitation efforts had ended is thought to allow the heart to expand, triggering the heart's electrical impulses and re-starting it.

Other possible factors are hyperkalaemia or high doses of adrenaline.
- Star

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April 15, 2011
Man who ‘died’ comes back to life
By S. ARULLDAS
Star

BUTTERWORTH: A 65-year-old man came back to life two-and-a-half hours after doctors at the Seberang Jaya Hospital pronounced him dead.

This rare phenomenon – known as the Lazarus Syndrome – has now become the talk of the town.

Upon learning of the self-em­­ployed man’s death, his family began making funeral arrangements and had even put up a canopy in front of their house on Jalan Tok Elong, Tanah Liat in Bukit Mertajam.

His wife and his 26-year-old son, who were on their way to the Central Seberang Prai district police station to lodge a report, were stunned when a doctor called to inform them that the man was alive.

Relating the incident, the man’s son, known only as Wei, said he had rushed his father to hospital at about 11am yesterday when he stopped breathing at their home.

“The doctors performed CPR (cardiac pulmonary resuscitation) and pronounced him dead an hour later. We then left for the police station when we received a call from a doctor at about 1.30pm,” he said.

Wei said they rushed back to the hospital and saw him being transferred to the CCU (Cardiac Care Unit).

It is learnt that the man and his 70-year-old brother had a quarrel outside their house at about 10.30am. The man apparently sustained an injury on his right hand and collapsed shortly after returning home.

A hospital spokesman said doctors performed CPR for over an hour but there was no response.

“Doctors pronounced the man dead after waiting for almost two hours,” she added.

“We kept monitoring him and noticed that he suddenly began breathing after two-and-a-half hours. We then put him on a respirator,” she said.

She said the Lazarus Syndrome was rare. It refers to the spontaneous return of circulation once attempts at resuscitation had failed.

The syndrome takes its name from the biblical story of Lazarus being raised from the dead by Jesus.

According to The Telegraph report on the Internet, there were only 38 recorded cases in the world up to June 2009.

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May 1, 2011
Last Farewell for miracle man
Star

BUKIT MERTAJAM: The family of Ng Ba Kia @ Ng Swee Hock, dubbed the “miracle man”, gave him a final farewell with a live band singing some of his favourite songs.

They engaged a five-piece band called Band 88 from Lunas, Kedah to render several Mandarin, Cantonese and English songs for 1½ hours.

“Ng’s family requested for us to sing Tsai Chin’s The Last Farewell, which was one of his favourite songs,” band member Simon Chong said at the deceased’s house in Kampung Tok Elong, Tanah Liat here yesterday.

The band also sang several English oldies, including Sealed With A Kiss, Always On My Mind and Words.

Later, a Taoist priest led 40 family members, including Ng’s siblings and two sons Kean Hooi, 27, and Kean Loong, 25, to perform the last rites.

His sister Gaik Choo, 53, said she missed her brother very much and prayed that his soul would rest in peace as he was a good man.

The hearse left Ng’s house at 11.30am to the Berapit Crematorium where he was cremated.

Ng, 65, a former tile layer and construction worker, was believed to be the country’s first person with the rare Lazarus phenomenon – a spontaneous return of circulation after attempts at resuscitation have failed.

On April 14, Ng stopped breathing and doctors pronounced him dead. But miraculously, he began breathing again after 2½ hours.

Ng was warded in the hospital’s critical care unit and was on a life-support machine.

He died 12 days later on April 26 in his house after his breathing apparatus was removed.