Woman's Face Burst Into Flames During Surgery!!

A 29-year-old mother of three is recovering in an Alabama burn unit after her face caught fire during a routine surgery earlier this week.

Kim Grice, of Holt, Fla., was having three cysts removed from her head at a hospital in Crestview, Fla., on Tuesday when a flash fire erupted, torching her face and neck, family members told the Crestview News Bulletin.

The blaze quickly fizzled, and doctors rushed her to the emergency room at North Okaloosa Medical Center, where she was stabilized.

She was then flown to the University of South Alabama Medical Center, where family members said she was able to talk to them on Wednesday.

Her mother, Ann Grice, said her daughter wasn't conscious when the blaze broke out.

"Kim said to me, 'They woke me up and everyone around me was hysterical. I don't know what happened to me,' " Ann Grice told the Destin Log.

Doctors at the panhandle hospital have kept the family in the dark about what caused the fire, Grice said.

"I still have not let her see or touch her face," Grice told the newspaper. "She is a very beautiful girl, my only child, and I don't have an answer for her."

Crestview fire officials told ABC News that surgery fires can flare up when electric or heat-generating tools, like lasers, mix with alcohol, oxygen and surgical coverings.

The North Okaloosa Medical Center said in a statement that they were investigating how the fire started.

"We are conducting a thorough review to fully understand what happened in a deliberate effort to prevent such an event from occurring again," the statement said.

Ann Grice said her family was stunned that her daughter went in for a routine procedure and ended up in a burn unit.

"Her eyes were too swollen for her to see me when I had visiting time this morning," Grice told the Destin Log. "She is just nauseated and I think, in shock. We all are."

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Comment by Incognito on December 6, 2011 at 5:30pm: No amount of money can heal this pain... she'll probably need a few rounds of surgery just to regain some sense of humility, and years of psychological counseling... Yikes

Comment by Maria on December 5, 2011 at 8:12pm: My lord Im gonna pray for her!

Comment by denise kelley on December 5, 2011 at 12:07pm: The reason why this happend to her is due to the Surgeons rush to get to the next patient. The prep they used was either Chloraprep or Dermaprep both are very dangerous when not allowed to dry because of the alcohol this happens often the doctors say prep the patient and rush to drape and don't allow this to dry they are very responsible for her injuries and I pray that she heals with minium damage to her face this is so sad.

Comment by evolution on December 3, 2011 at 7:46am: Lasers and Alcohol is a bad combination especially during any surgery. Well the hospital is in for a huge lawsuit because they handle the matter badly after the fact, making it appearing as a cover up.

Comment by Cause for concern on December 2, 2011 at 9:34pm: Can you shing shing!!! lol

Comment by www.jaxsprats.com on December 2, 2011 at 8:20pm: OMG! This is a horrific. Yes! this is a huge lawsuit. I would like to know if there were any cameras in the operating room.

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Comment by jazzy deacon on December 2, 2011 at 7:58pm: Big law suite!!.....gal u will be rich...go do a plastic surgery out of the money!!! bring the rest to me...