Girl, 7, dies during surgery to remove tonsils

‘Going into surgery, she had no fear. She was smiling and happy. Nothing was wrong,’ says grandmother

Paisley Cogsdill, 7, died suddenly during a tonsillectomy (FOX19NOW)

A seven-year-old girl has died during a common surgical procedure to remove her tonsils.

Paisley Cogsdill was undergoing the tonsillectomy at a medical centre in Greenwood, a city in South Carolina.

One minute into the surgery on 21 February, her heart suddenly stopped and doctors could not revive her, her parents told CNN affiliate WHNS.

They also said Cogsdill was a healthy child with no medical issues.

Cogsdill’s grandmother, Mary Beth Truelock, told broadcaster FOX19: “Going into surgery, she had no fear. She was smiling and happy. Nothing was wrong. She had no fear.

“You don’t understand why these things happen but we know it was God’s plan and that’s the only thing that can get us through."

The young girl was described as “energetic” by her uncle, Cameron Truelock.

He said: “She would always keep us on our toes. She loved going to church, being active in church, and she loved being close to everybody. She was the community’s kid. She loved everybody in the community.”

A GoFundMe page was set up on behalf of her father, Austin Cogsdill, to help the family cover funeral expenses.

An autopsy will be carried out to determine the cause of death.

Tonsillectomies are one of the most common surgical procedures in the world and the most serious risk usually involves bleeding or infection post-surgery. They are estimate have a mortality rate of one death in every 20,000 procedures