Doctors amputate wrong leg on elderly man in Austria

Imagine you’ve been given the devastating news that you have to have one of your legs amputated. The day comes, and you go to the hospital to have the operation. It is done, and you wake up only to find out that they amputated the wrong leg. This is the unfortunately true story of an 82-year-old man in Austria. (1)

Austrian Hospital Amputates Wrong Leg Of Elderly Patient

Last week, an 82-year-old man went into the hospital to have a necessary amputation of his left leg. Due to several diseases, the doctors had no choice but to remove the infected leg. Due to human error, however, they accidentally removed the wrong one. Then they had to give the man even more devastating news than before: That not only did they amputate the wrong leg, but they were still going to have to amputate the other. (1)

“It was (Thursday) morning, in the course of the standard wound dressing change, that the tragic mistake, caused by human error, was discovered,” the clinic said in a statement. “A disastrous combination of circumstances led to the patient’s right leg being amputated instead of his left” (2)

Read: Doctors investigate mystery brain disease in Canada

At What Point Was The Error Made?

The clinic confirmed that they made the mistake during the part of the operation when the surgeons mark which leg they are removing. Tragically, they marked the wrong one. They then cut off the right leg mid-thigh instead of the left. The clinic staff then noted the error when they went to change the dressings two mornings after. (1)

“We would also like to affirm that we will be doing everything to unravel the case, to investigate all internal processes and critically analyze them. Any necessary steps will immediately be taken,” the hospital confirmed. (2)

Upon their own request, the surgeon who performed the surgery is taking some time off from work. The hospital has not yet said whether or not the affected patient, who is now a double-amputee, will be financially compensated for the error. (1)

Keep Reading: Car goes up in flames when driver smoking cigarette uses hand sanitizer