In a rare case of medical malpractice, a surgeon has mistaken the healthy kidney of his patient for a tumour, removing it in the process.
The patient, a Florida woman, is taking action after she went in for a routine back surgery and left with one less kidney.
Maureen Pacheco was in her early 50s when a surgeon mistook her healthy kidney for a cancerous tumor on the operating table in April 2016, the Palm Beach Post reported.
During the procedure, Dr. Ramon Vazques saw her kidney, believed it was a tumour, declared an emergency and took it out, said an administrative complaint made by Florida’s Department of Health.