An adult patient’s amputated leg was amputated in an Austrian clinic. Instead of the left, the right has been removed. The incident was reported by the Austrian newspaper Heute, BGNES reported.
The patient himself did not initially notice the error due to his health condition. Before the operation, his doctor marked his foot with an arrow.
He tried to clarify in advance with the patient on which leg to perform the operation, but the elderly man had a speech problem. The doctor still performed the operation.
The Freistadt Clinic issued a statement saying the 82-year-old patient was suffering from many illnesses. According to the clinic’s medical director, Norbert Fritsch, the accident happened on May 18. The fatal error was noticed four days later when changing the dressing.
“We need to understand how this mistake could have happened. I would like to apologize publicly,” Fritsch told a news conference.
The patient was offered psychological help. He will have to undergo another operation to remove his left leg from the middle of his thigh, which originally had to be amputated.
The operation should be performed in the following days, but the patient’s consent has not yet been obtained.
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