An American is suing medical staff at a university hospital, accusing them of removing the wrong organ during an appendicitis operation.
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A 72-year-old man named George Piano suffered from abdominal pain and presented to the University of Washington Medical Center on December 6, 2022.
Doctors diagnosed him with appendicitis, but according to court documents viewed by USA Today, two surgeons removed part of the diverticulitis from the patient’s colon rather than his swollen appendix during the operation.
Subsequently, while his appendix was still in his body, Mr. Piano continued to experience significant pain in his abdomen.
“When I woke up and the medication stopped working, I was in much worse pain than the pain that had put me in the hospital,” Mr. Piano says.
Two days later, scans carried out at hospital showed his appendix was still present in his abdomen.
A further operation on the same day would have permanently removed the appendix, but the damage caused to the patient would have meant he would have spent no fewer than 53 days in hospital over the past year.
These events reportedly resulted in anxiety, significant weight loss, and short-term memory loss.
“I feel very lucky to be alive,” he said. We don’t want this to happen to others. Someone has to take responsibility for what happened.”
For its part, the University of Washington Department of Medicine told USA Today that it cannot comment on the matter because it will go to court.