At the Florencio Díaz Provincial Hospital in Córdoba, Argentina, 41yearold patient Jorge Base experienced a horrific turn of events during what was supposed to be a gallbladder operation. The surgery, originally scheduled for February 20, was postponed to February 28, a Wednesday, which hospital authorities said contributed to the catastrophic error.
Instead of the longawaited gallbladder procedure, doctors performed a vasectomy on Jorge. Angry and helpless, he expressed his frustration and regretted that one of his greatest wishes to have a daughter in the future was suddenly taken away from him, even though he is already a father of two boys.
The patient emphasized the strangeness of the error and emphasized that his medical record clearly indicated gallbladder surgery. Base questioned the negligence that led to such a serious mistake and said no one at the hospital was taking responsibility. Base's lawyer, Diego Larrey, revealed that the hospital claimed that gallbladder surgeries were not performed on Wednesdays, which led to the confusion.
Larrey explained that no further information was requested before Base was transported to the operating room; They just put him on the stretcher and moved on. When he awoke from anesthesia, Base received the shocking news that a vasectomy had been performed in addition to the gallbladder operation. Given the state of shock, health workers suggested the solution of fertilization to enable future children.
After admitting the mistake, the hospital performed a second operation to reverse the vasectomy. While health authorities blamed each other, Jorge Base now faces the consequences of a medical error that drastically changed his life.
With information from the newspaper O Globo.