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The Rhodesia Herald,
May 26, 1967
A 79-YEAR-OLD woman is legless in the hospital here after a surgeon amputated the wrong leg by mistake, an official statement by a Birmingham hospital said yesterday.
Having realised his error while the woman was still in the operating theatre, the surgeon then took off the bad leg as well.
The woman, whose name was not revealed, is making good recovery, the statement said, and is undergoing rehabilitation treatment, Iana-Reuter reports.
According to our respondent, a spokesman said: “We do not want to prejudice the case by making too much of it. Legal proceedings will decide where the blame lies.”
But the secretary of the East Birmingham Group of Hospitals, Mr J. Elliot said: “Inquiries indicate that this matter hinges on an individual’s surgeon-patient relationship. There is no evidence to suggest that the pre-operative system of safeguards and checks was at fault.”
It is the first recorded operation error at the hospital, which carries out 5 000 operations a year.
In Rome three doctors have been committed for trial for allegedly forgetting a pair of forceps in the abdomen of a patient and causing his death. Mr E. de Reti (80) underwent an appendix operation in 1964. He died last year shortly after a second operation to remove the forceps.
The three doctors were charged with manslaughter, reports Iana-Reuters.
LESSONS FOR TODAY
- There are some jobs that require total focus and attention such as in the medical field because a simple mistake can cause irreparable damage.
- Some mistakes whether done intentionally or unintentionally can attract severe consequences such as legal battles and in some cases heavy fines and compensations.
- To err is human. No matter how many times one does a procedure correctly at one point or the other, they are bound to make a mistake.
Online Reporter