Young actress died after jaw op

Tributes have been paid to an aspiring actress who died following an operation to realign her jaw.

Alexandra Mills, known as Alix, from Cirencester, Gloucestershire, died four days after surgery at Cheltenham General Hospital in February 2005.

The 20-year-old had undergone the eight-hour operation to correct the alignment of her upper jaw.

The operation was a success but she died after a tube intended to measure her blood pressure pierced her heart.

This meant that later injections of potassium through the tube, intended to correct a blood imbalance, leaked straight into her heart.

Great potential

An inquest in Gloucester heard that the injection of potassium eventually led to a heart attack.

A post-mortem examination recorded the cause of her death to be an oxygen shortage to the brain due to an arrhythmia (irregular beat) in the heart caused by the potassium.

Miss Mills's former teacher paid tribute to her, saying she had been a delight to teach.

Duncan Walthew, head of performing arts at Cirencester College, said: "Alix would always be word-perfect with her lines and her written work was impressive.

"I thought she had the potential to go very far."

Gloucestershire Coroner Alan Crickmore said doctors were not to blame for Miss Mills's death.

Returning a verdict of accidental death, he said: "She was the unfortunate victim of an unusual event - the terrible coincidence created that compromised the beating of her heart and the potassium itself acting against the best interests of her heart.

"I'm satisfied this was the unintended consequence over which there was no human control."