Posted on 04/05/2007 10:00:02 PM PDT by Larry Lucido
LOS ANGELES (AP) - An Air Force veteran filed a federal claim after undergoing an operation at a Veterans Administration hospital in which a healthy testicle was removed instead of a potentially cancerous one.
Benjamin Houghton, 47, was to have had his left testicle removed on June 14 at the West Los Angeles VA Medical Center because there was a chance it could harbor cancer cells. It also was atrophied and painful.
But doctors mistakenly removed the right testicle, according to medical records and the claim, which seeks $200,000 for future care and unspecified damages.
"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.
The claim was filed on Aug. 8 under the Federal Tort Claims Act. If it is denied, Houghton can sue the government in a federal court, Friery said.
Dr. Dean Norman, chief of staff for the Greater Los Angeles VA system, has formally apologized to Houghton and his wife.
"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. Norman added that the hospital has made changes in practices as a result of the case.
The mistake appeared to result from a series of missteps, according to Houghton's medical records.
First, a consent form said the right testicle was to be removed and a left vasectomy performed, when it should have been the opposite. Records do not say who prepared the form. It was signed by both Houghton and the surgeon, John T. Leppert, a fifth-year University of California, Los Angeles, medical resident.
Houghton's wife said her husband did not have his glasses so he could not read it.
Next, the surgical site was to be marked with a pen.
Houghton said he was asked to identify the surgical site and pointed to his left testicle, but no one marked it. Houghton's records don't mention a mark.
Finally, the VA hospital required that a "time-out" be taken in the operating room to double-check that doctors were targeting the correct site, doing the correct procedure and operating on the correct patient.
The medical records show that a time-out was called, but it's unclear whether medical personnel consulted any document besides the erroneous consent form.
Houghton still hasn't had the other testicle removed.
That is nuts!
Haven’t read this article yet, but I sure hope Lance Armstrong wasn’t a vet.
Dang. That is terrible.
Yep. “Let’s see now, the chart says ‘right.’ Is that his right or my right?’”
Okay, I’d be unhappy.
“Wait a minute...that wasn’t his left testicle, he was carrying his Lucky Golf Ball in his pocket! Damn! Not again!”
I have surgery for a testicular torsion awhile back. and that kind of confused me. well, its my left, but is it their left ? LOL
I worked at a hospital in the 60’s where there was a very popular general surgeon who had a booming practice. We nurses always thought he was a bit “kooky,” though. Several years after I moved away, I received a newspaper clipping from a nurse friend. While this surgeon was performing surgery to repair an inguinal (groin) hernia on a young man in his 20’s prior to his marriage, he accidently cut off...you guessed it....and it wasn’t a testicle. Isn’t that a shame?
He better get on the ball.
I thought it said “Vet Claims Dogs Removed Wrong Testicle” and wondered why he was letting his patients perform surgery.
This is another good example of something basic a patient can do.
As long as your not unconscious, just point to the area the doctor is supposed to operate on.
You never know, the doctor might operate on a wrong area as this story tells.
Take nothing for granted.
Hopefully this story will warn other people
He should have had another vet do it or have done it himself.
A post it note on the proper testicle might have helped.
And its not like he has a lot of balls to spare.
Well He got a radical vasectomy and signed for it... Hate when that happens... but such is life in human error land... when you don't bother reading the fine print...
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