How Could You? Hall of Shame-Christopher Schutzius case-child death UPDATED

This will be an archive of heinous actions by those involved in child welfare, foster care and adoption. We forewarn you that these are deeply disturbing stories that may involve sex abuse, murder, kidnapping and other horrendous actions.

From Blue Island, Illinois, a 2011 missed case reveals that foster child Christopher Schutzius, 17, died on Wednesday February 9, 2011 of sepsis (toxic blood infection) after a questionably-performed root canal surgery.

“Christopher Schutzius, 17, of Blue Island, died of an infection that the Cook County Medical Examiner says was contracted after a root canal.

Dental experts say it’s extremely rare for even a botched root canal to result in death.

On Friday, relatives of the patient are questioning whether the procedure should have been done at all.
Schutzius’s loved-ones are stunned by his death.

“He’d give you the shirt off his back. He was a wonderful kid. It’s hard to believe he’s not with us anymore,” said his foster brother Richard Garcia.

The 17-year-old high school senior died Wednesday more than a week after getting a root canal at this clinic in Blue Island called Dental Dreams.

When Schutzius fell ill a few days after the procedure, family members initially thought he had the flu.

“His eyes were real wide. He looked like, he was sweating. He was kind of pacing around, too. He looked confused, too, like he didn’t know where he wanted to go,” said his foster cousin David Saenz.

The Cook County Medical Examiner says Schutzius died of the toxic infection sepsis resulting from the root canal.

His relatives now question whether the procedure was even necessary, saying Schutzius initially went to the clinic to replace a loose filling.

“He was a perfectly healthy kid. Never smoked, never drank, never did drugs,” Saenz said.

Relatives say Schutzius was not given antibiotics, just some over-the-counter medication.

Dr. Christopher Wenckus, Head of Endodontics at the University of Illinois at Chicago School of Dentistry says antibiotics are not standard after a root canal.

He says it’s almost unheard of, however, for the procedure, even if improperly performed, to result in death.

“If this is indeed linked to the root canal, it’s extremely, extremely rare,” Wenckus said. “There’s around 16 million root canals performed in this country every year, and as I look back at my 35 years of experience, I haven’t heard of that happening before.”

Schutzius was due to graduate high school this spring and had hoped to become a mechanic.

“He was going to succeed. He was a very nice kid, had the demeanor for it, and I think he had the capability of becoming a good mechanic if that’s what he chose to do,” said Eisenhower High School Associate Principal Philip Henry.

“I loved him like a brother. We’re going miss him. And hopefully he’s good up there where he’s at,” Saenz said.

ABC7 called Dental Dreams, the clinic where Schutzius had his root canal.

A woman who answered the phone said they had no comment on the case and hung up the phone.

We also tried to check with the Illinois Department of Professional Regulation to see if the clinic has past complaints on file, but the office was closed because of the Lincoln Holiday. ”

Blue Island teen dies after root canal
[ABC 2/11/11 by Eric Horng]

“The owner of Dental Dreams in Blue Island, where Schutzius had surgery on Feb. 1, said the business was investigating the matter, while an expert in root canal therapy questioned whether underlying conditions contributed to Schutzius contracting sepsis.

Teen dies of illness after root canal
[Sun Times by Steve Metsch]

“In the days after Christopher Schutzius, 17. underwent root canal surgery, there were moments when he seemed invigorated and fine, and others when he complained of feeling achy and tired, his foster family in Blue Island said.

When he laid down on the couch in the living room on Tuesday and refused to move, his family became concerned and called an ambulance, said his foster sister Candace Garcia.

They were shocked when Schutzius was placed on life-support and later died at MetroSouth Medical Center in Blue Island.

“It’s just crazy,” she said. “He had his whole life in front of him.”

Schutzius died of sepsis, a toxic infection, following the root canal, the Cook County medical examiner’s office ruled after an autopsy Thursday.

Several medical experts said it is rare for serious complications to occur because of a root canal. It’s too early to determine whether the dental procedure led to sepsis or whether other complications were involved, said the experts, who are not familiar with the details of Schutzius’ case.

His death has devastated his foster family and his biological relatives and is being investigated by the dental office where the surgery was performed, officials there said. The state Department of Financial and Professional Regulation investigates any medical procedure that results in an “adverse outcome,” said agency spokeswoman Susan Hofer. The Department of Children and Family Services is conducting a neglect investigation, which is routine when a foster child dies.

Schutzius, a senior at Eisenhower High School who was to graduate in May, was pronounced dead just after 11 a.m. Wednesday, more than a week after undergoing the dental procedure at Dental Dreams in Blue Island.

The youth lost a filling while eating caramel candy in January, according to his two foster siblings, Candace Garcia, 20, and Richard Garcia, 23. He went alone to the dental office on Feb. 1 to have the filling replaced and ended up having a root canal performed.

The family believes the procedure was unnecessary.

“They saw he was by himself and he didn’t have a parent with him and took advantage,” Richard Garcia said.

But the fact that Schutzius’ filling fell out indicated that the tooth probably was already decaying because of infection and that a root canal likely was necessary, said Dr. Christopher S. Wenckus, head of the endodontics department at the University of Illinois at Chicago’s College of Dentistry, and Dr. Clara M. Spatafore, president of the American Association of Endodontists.

Wenckus said deaths or serious complications following root canals are “horribly uncommon.”

“In all the years that I’ve done this, I have not personally seen anything where there’s been a direct link between a root canal being done and a patient dying,” he said. “These things can happen, but they’re extremely rare.”

Root canal surgery is a very common, safe procedure, Wenckus and Spatafore said.

Throughout the week, the young man applied an over-the-counter pain medication to numb the soreness, Candace Garcia said. He complained of not feeling well, and asked to stay home from school on Monday.

That day he got up, showered and got himself dressed and ate his meals as usual. But on Tuesday, he was weak and didn’t look like himself, which prompted his family to call for help.

The boy’s foster mother, Laura Serna, said she was too distraught to talk to reporters and had been advised by officials with DCFS not to discuss the case. Schutzius’ biological mother, Barbara Schutzius, of Alsip, did not return calls.

A dentist who worked for Dental Dreams in Illinois and Massachusetts claims in a pending 2009 whistleblower lawsuit that he was fired after refusing to follow orders from the chain’s Chicago managers to perform “medically unnecessary” treatments on patients in order to boost profits.

Schutzius was placed in foster care in 2008, a spokesman for DCFS said. He and his two younger siblings had been living with Serna, a close family friend and the children’s godmother, since then.

“Chris was a wonderful kid,” Candace Garcia said. He wanted to finish school and study to become an auto mechanic, she said.

“It’s a hard loss for us,” said Joe Serna, 14, Schutzius’ foster brother. “He was so young and it happened so fast. It’s unreal.”

Death of teen after root canal surgery shocks family, community
[Chicago Tribune 2/11/11 by Lolly Bowean, Ryan Haggerty and Steve Schmadeke]

REFORM Puzzle Piece

What quality of services are Illinois foster kids being offered? Did the unnamed dentist see this as an opportunity to make more money off the state by doing a quick major procedure?

Update/April 24, 2012

Christopher’s case was accounted for in the 2012 Office of Attorney General report to the stae. Report can be found here .

Page 99 of pdf Child No. 100 DOB 4/93 DOD 2/11

” Age at death: 17 years

Substance exposed: No

Cause of death: Bronchopneumonia due to H1N1 influenza

Reason For Review: Child was a ward

Action Taken: Investigatory review of records

Narrative: Seventeen-year-old ward died in the hospital one day after being admitted. A week earlier the boy had a root canal. He was not given any antibiotics. Four days later he felt ill and slept for most of the weekend. On the sixth day following the root canal, the ward stayed home from school with flu-like symptoms. He stayed home the next day as well and that night when he spiked a fever and began to hallucinate his relative foster mother called for an ambulance.

Prior History: The boy lived with his parents and brother until 1998 when his mother left his father after having a baby with the father’s coworker. The mother and children moved in with the boyfriend and he and the mother had another child. The three adults have multiple problems. The boyfriend was physically abusive to the brothers and an intact family case was open between 2007 and 2008. In May 2008 the youngest child, an 8-year-old girl, disclosed that her father had sexually abused her and all four children were taken into custody. The three surviving siblings remain in foster care. They are placed in three different foster homes and have goals of independence. ”