Sudden Death Due to Pulmonary Embolism: Two Case Reports

Deaths due to pulmonary thromboembolism are common and the diagnosis is often missed because patients present with nonspecific signs and symptoms. This may lead to allegations of negligence against the operating surgeon or the hospital. Only a meticulous postmortem examination and histopathlogical findings can help in determining the immediate cause of death as pulmonary embolism. In this paper we discuss two rare cases of pulmonary thromboembolism one in which the embolus was found in the right atrium and a case of saddle embolus.