Doctors remove wrong kidney during surgery

Posted on Mar 20th 2008 6:00PM by Maggie Vink

A Minnesota patient underwent surgery to remove his cancerous kidney. The doctors did remove a kidney... but they removed the healthy one by mistake. The wrong kidney was identified for removal on a medical chart. As a matter of practice, the doctors double-checked the materials during surgery, and followed the (incorrect) medical chart to a tee. A pathologist noticed the error the day after surgery.

The hospital made a full apology to the patient (who has decided to stay at the hospital) and his family. The surgeon involved has voluntarily stopped seeing patients.

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Tags: cancer, kidney, medical error, MedicalError, Minnesota, surgeon, surgery

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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 12)

Juanita 3-20-2008 @ 8:09PM

So, what's this poor guy supposed to do now with a cancerous kidney, besides sue the pants off the hospital and doctor.

This mistake is so outrageous, it's beyond comprehension! My sympathies to the patient and his family.

frustrateddoctor 3-23-2008 @ 10:21AM

This was a horrible mistake. Doctors are human. There are many checks to try to avoid operating on the wrong side but unfortunatley, mistakes are made. Doctors are expected to be correct 100% of the time. If a baseball player gets a hit 30% of the time he gets a multimillion dollar contract. For those of you who think that doctors are getting rich on this, the reimbursement for a nephrectomy averages $990. That includes the operative procedure, follow up while in the hospital as well and 90 days follow up in the office. You have to do 75 nephrectomies a year just to pay your malpractice insurance, forget about all your other expenses. Yet people pay $2000 for a first row seat at Madison Square Garden to see the pitiful Knicks play one game! There is no excuse for this horrible error, but it is the comments on this page that makes me want to give up medicine forever. Patient's now come into the office and say they will sue me if I make a mistake. Do I want to take care of any of them? Fine, take care of yourself and when you are sick, take care of yourself and don't go to a doctor. I was watching the the History Channel on the history channel the other day about the Kennedy's. Did anyone know that Jackie had a baby 6 weeks premature in 1963 and the baby was taken to a small hospital and the baby died within a week? That was the President's child! Now if a six week premie were to die in a week, the lawyers would be jumping all over the doctors and the hospital. So keep sueing and criticizing your doctors, until they all quit and you can't get any medical care.

jeff 3-23-2008 @ 10:52AM

though n your baseball analogy, the other 70% don't die do they?

Eric 3-23-2008 @ 11:37AM

University of Tampa med center amputates wrong leg on patient. 2 months later they unplug the wrong patient from a respirator. who was the moron who did a double mastectomy to later anounce they had the wrong records from a different pt.

Sharon 3-23-2008 @ 4:38PM

You say you're a doctor but you sound very bitter. It wasn't just the doctor. There was a whole team of people looking at the medical chart. This IS a lawsuit in the making!

Terri 3-23-2008 @ 4:31PM

Stop whinning and do your job........If we all quit our jobs everytime someone complained about something ....then noone would be working cuz the world is full of complainers , so just suck it up and do the best u can .

tt no excuse 3-23-2008 @ 4:31PM

I agree. Everyone makes mistakes. But only completely careless and incompetent persons make mistakes like this, and then make a rediculous excuse to match their lack of quality system procedures. This mistake should cost the hospital administration a lawsuit more so than the doctor.

tt no excuse 3-23-2008 @ 4:27PM

Accidents may happen, but this doctor is making rediculous excuses. We don't know his name but hopefully he's not ours.

Leroy 3-23-2008 @ 9:19AM

A local Dr recently went into a patient to remove a large tumor from a patients body cavity.
The "tumor" turned out to be the patients left kidney, which was healthy, but is now gone.
This Dr settled with the patient for $385,000
He is still on the surgical board at our local hospital, even though everyone in town knows he's a drunk, and that is the reason he lost his liscence in a neighboring state.
PLEASE, check your surgeons performance record before he/she operates.
This same surgeon also botched my mothers cancer surgery, eventually killing her.

CRYSTALRENNA 3-23-2008 @ 9:21AM

I am so sorry to hear what happened to your mother. These things do happen and the doctor should NEVER be able to practice anywhere after something like that.

Ricky P 3-23-2008 @ 9:19AM

Doctors these days are idiots! this type of thing along with neglect and misdiagnosis are so common these days. I hope like hell he takes him for everything he's got and continues to come into and that when he's gone his family does the same for their loss! The reason alot of this happens is that many just graduate medical school and continue on with practice in completion of such education in order to graduate! Make it known up front pryor to any operations "No Ameteur Doctors ! As for the Quacks? Alot of them out there and alot of doctors on prescription drugs and alchohol as well! He might as well be dead now! I'd take the SOB with me!

Marty 3-23-2008 @ 9:19AM

Our friend in California told me that a similar incident happened with their 7 year old grand daughter. Instead of removing a portion of her cancerous lung, they removed the healthy one. Pretty scary stuff. This happened in a highly reputable hospital in San Francisco.

Shell 3-23-2008 @ 9:19AM

I just recently had a very large tumor removed from my right kidney, thankfully the right one! I have heard stories like this before and I have to say it must be one of the most horrible things to happen, BUT, do your homework!!! As a patient I made sure through tests, the MRI scanners, etc, etc where and what side was the problem and talked about it right up until I went under, I knew it was my right and so did everyone else! There are multiple papers to sign, etc, etc, people to talk to on the way in, the preoperative waiting room with the preoperative people who are SUPPOSED to double check all your paperwork. Thankfully, I had a very brilliant surgeon, though not a good people person/doctor, its not who talks the talk its who walks the walk and I am thankful he did the walk with me because I feel 100% better a month status post my surgery! Thank you Dr. Gazi for giving me my life back!!

looch 3-23-2008 @ 9:19AM

hey doctors are only in it for the money anymore, so thats why there are so many mistakes. I got medicine while in the hospital which made me get ulcers which bled, and I needed a blood transfusion. the whole system is out of whack.

Renee Graham 3-23-2008 @ 9:18AM

This is an unfortunate situation for both the patient and surgeon alike. It was not a malicious attempt to rape some individual of his organs but an error caused by a failure in a complex process involving many individuals including patients themselves. Despite the surgeons honorable oath of "Do no harm first" human failing precided. Bless them both.

Sunny 3-23-2008 @ 9:18AM

This is sheer incompetene and stupidity.
Gee, oops....sorry.
I have always contended that doctors WANT you to sick. They WANT to find something major wrong with you.
They just hurried it along here.
I hope the patient and the family gets a HUGE settlement.
This is a VALID case that should be compensated anyway possible.
What ididots.

Linda Varon 3-23-2008 @ 9:18AM

It is mind boggling that these kinds of mistakes happen. When you hear of doctors complaining about how expensive their malpractice insurance is, this is the reason! If they didn't make these horrible mistakes, it wouldn't cost them a million or so a year for their insurance. Hello..This is why it is the "practice" of medicine. They are just practicing on you when they operate..

dave 3-23-2008 @ 9:18AM

This surgeon should lose his license and be forced to pay the victim damages. This is yet another typical story of gross incompetence in the field of medicine.

brick 3-23-2008 @ 9:18AM

My Dr has a good way to avoid these mistakes, right before they bring you to the or, before anistisia he stops buy and asks what shoulder are we doing today (he does only shoulders and knees) you tell him he checks your chart,if it matches up he useses some kind of sterile pen and writes his name on the correct shoulder. Great idea!! I dont know why all Doctors dont do it.