WEIRD NEWS OF THE WEEK: Man goes in for minor surgery, comes out with vasectomy by mistake
As far as medical blunders go, this one is a cut above...
By Dave Lancaster |13:59 07 May 2014
A man went into The Royal Liverpool Hospital to undergo minor urology surgery but came out with a vasectomy after a medical blunder, it has been revealed.
The hospital, which 'apologised unreservedly' and tried to reverse the procedure now faces a six-figure compensation claim as the patient awaits anxiously to see if he will be able to have children.
Patient confidentiality means that the victim's name and age has not been revealed to the press.
The trust claims that since 2011 this is their second "never event" - a term for medical mishaps that should never happen.
Dr Peter Williams, the medical director, said: "We can confirm a patient who was scheduled to have a different minor urological procedure was wrongly given a vasectomy.
"We have apologised unreservedly to the patient and we are offering him our full support. We greatly regret the distress this has caused him.
"It is our duty, in the best interests of the patient to uphold their confidentiality, therefore we cannot provide any further detail without their agreement.
"This is a serious incident and we are investigating this fully to understand why it occurred and how we can ensure it does not happen again."
The vasectomy procedure (in which the tubes that carry sperm from a man's testicles to his penis are cut or sealed) has a 99% success rate, but the chances of reversing the op fall around the 55% mark.
Ian Cohen, clinical negligence lawyer at Slater & Gordon, related his thoughts on the case to the press. Quoted by The Telegraph, he said: "This is a truly shocking and worrying case. From what we know there has been a catastrophic breakdown in procedure, as simple checks designed to ensure the correct operation is carried out on the right patient seem to have failed.
"In a worst-case scenario – sterility in a younger man with no children – the trust might be liable for a figure in excess of £100,000 in compensation."