Doctors Amputate the Wrong Leg of an Elderly Man in Austria in ‘Tragic Mistake’
Getty Doctors prepare for surgery
Doctors at an Austrian hospital amputated the wrong leg of an elderly man, they said Thursday, in a "tragic mistake."
The 82-year-old patient was supposed to have his left leg removed on Tuesday, but doctors instead amputated his right leg above the knee, which the hospital, the Freistadt Clinic in northern Austria, blamed on "human error."
"We are deeply shocked that on Tuesday, May 18, despite quality assurance standards, the wrong leg of an 82-year old man ... was amputated," the clinic said in a statement, Reuters reported.
The man is suffering from "numerous medical conditions," the hospital said, and past sicknesses caused the need for amputation.
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The hospital said that error began before the operation, when a worker incorrectly marked his right leg as the one to operate on. They realized the issue two days after the operation.
"It was [Thursday] morning, in the course of the standard wound dressing change, that the tragic mistake, caused by human error, was discovered," the hospital said, according to CNN.
PEOPLE has contacted the Freistadt Clinic for further comment.
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Calling the incident a "disastrous combination of circumstances," the Freistadt Clinic said that they have informed the patient's family of the error and has offered him psychological support. The surgeon who performed the surgery has taken time off, at her request, they said.
"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 said.
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The man will undergo a second surgery to amputate the correct leg in the coming days.
"The operation is planned shortly," the hospital said.
