A woman is recovering at the burns unit of an Alabama hospital after a routine surgery Tuesday went wrong.

Kim Grice was having three cysts removed from her head during an outpatient procedure at North Okaloosa Medical Centre in Florida when a flash fire suddenly sparked, setting her face and neck ablaze, the Daily Mail reported.

The 29-year old mother of three was immediately flown by helicopter to the University of South Alabama, where she is currently being treated for second-degree burns.

Brice's mother Ann is shocked about the incident. She said, I still do not know what happened. No one will tell me why or how this happened to her.

Ann said her daughter had no clue what happened when she gained consciousness during the procedure. Kim said to me, 'They woke me up and everyone around me was hysterical. I don't know what happened to me,' she told the Daily Mail.

Hospital authorities have apologized and yet to determine the cause of the accident.

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

Kim's case is not an isolated one. Experts claim between 550 and 650 surgical fires occur a year though very few cause critical damage.

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