Wednesday - April 11, 2007

Is That Your Left Or My Left?

Guys, if you’re going into the hospital to have a nut removed, it might be a good idea to take a magic marker and clearly mark the one to be pruned. Otherwise you could be singing soprano for a long time.

VA Removes Wrong Testicle
LOS ANGELES (MILITARY.COM) - April 05, 2007

A U.S. Air Force veteran has filed a federal claim after a healthy testicle was mistakenly removed instead of a potentially cancerous one during an operation. Benjamin Houghton, 47, thought his left testicle, which was atrophied and painful, would be removed last June at a Veterans Administration hospital because there was a chance the testicle could harbor cancer cells.

But doctors removed his right testicle, according to medical records and the claim, which seeks $200,000 for future care and unspecified damages. He still has not had the other testicle removed.

“At first I thought it was a joke,” Houghton told the Los Angeles Times. “Then I was shocked. I told them, ‘What do I do now?’” Houghton, his wife, Monica, and their attorney, Dr. Susan Friery, said they hoped to get the VA’s attention by going public with the situation.

Dr. Dean Norman, chief of staff for the Greater Los Angeles VA system, has formally apologized. “We are making every attempt that we can to care for Mr. Houghton, but it’s in litigation, and that’s all we can tell you,” he said.

The hospital changed practices as a result of the case, he added.

Posted by The Skipper     on 04/11/2007 at 04:08 PM   
Filed Under: • Medical •  
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