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I mean, really, how does this happen?
http://http://www.kare11.com/news/ts...storyid=501941
http://http://www.kare11.com/news/ts...storyid=501941
It was an interview Dr. Samuel Carlson hoped he'd never have to give: an acknowledgement that his medical staff at Methodist Hospital made an unthinkable mistake - removing a healthy kidney from a patient whose cancerous kidney was left in place.
"This has been a tragic event and Park Nicollet has accepted full responsibility," said Carlson, chief medical officer for Park Nicollet Health Services.
The surgery was performed last Tuesday, but it wasn't until the next day that a pathologist noticed the kidney taken from the patient was healthy.
The doctor who removed the kidney - a veteran surgeon - has voluntary stopped seeing patients. Carlson says the mistake may have originated at a Park Nicollet clinic. "It does appear that it was during that paperwork process of office documentation that this mistake, this error, occurred in what location the lesion was."
So called wrong-site surgeries do happen - 24 were reported to the Minnesota Department of Health last year - but removal of the wrong organ is rare.
In the four-and-a-half years that state as been assembling data, "I don't know if we've ever had a wrong organ removal," said Diane Rydrych, assistant director of the state's division of health policy.
Ryrdrych says most hospitals have safety measures in place to prevent wrong-site surgery, including marking body parts to be operated on in advance of surgery and requiring a "time out" in the operating room to give surgical staff a chance to double check documentation and voice any concerns.
"I would say that these events are always preventable or almost always preventable" said Rydrych.
Carlson says standard protocols were followed in the Methodist Hospital operating room to prevent wrong-site surgery, but revealed that a new safety protocol has been added. Methodist Hospital surgeons will now be required to double check MRI or CT scans before starting surgery.
Dr. Carlson declined to comment on the patient's prognosis, nor would he reveal the patients age and gender, citing patient confidentiality. Carlson said Park Nicollet "has apologized to the patient and family, has provided support and will continue to provide the support the patient and family need during this difficult and challenging time."
The patient remains under the care Methodist Hospital.
"This has been a tragic event and Park Nicollet has accepted full responsibility," said Carlson, chief medical officer for Park Nicollet Health Services.
The surgery was performed last Tuesday, but it wasn't until the next day that a pathologist noticed the kidney taken from the patient was healthy.
The doctor who removed the kidney - a veteran surgeon - has voluntary stopped seeing patients. Carlson says the mistake may have originated at a Park Nicollet clinic. "It does appear that it was during that paperwork process of office documentation that this mistake, this error, occurred in what location the lesion was."
So called wrong-site surgeries do happen - 24 were reported to the Minnesota Department of Health last year - but removal of the wrong organ is rare.
In the four-and-a-half years that state as been assembling data, "I don't know if we've ever had a wrong organ removal," said Diane Rydrych, assistant director of the state's division of health policy.
Ryrdrych says most hospitals have safety measures in place to prevent wrong-site surgery, including marking body parts to be operated on in advance of surgery and requiring a "time out" in the operating room to give surgical staff a chance to double check documentation and voice any concerns.
"I would say that these events are always preventable or almost always preventable" said Rydrych.
Carlson says standard protocols were followed in the Methodist Hospital operating room to prevent wrong-site surgery, but revealed that a new safety protocol has been added. Methodist Hospital surgeons will now be required to double check MRI or CT scans before starting surgery.
Dr. Carlson declined to comment on the patient's prognosis, nor would he reveal the patients age and gender, citing patient confidentiality. Carlson said Park Nicollet "has apologized to the patient and family, has provided support and will continue to provide the support the patient and family need during this difficult and challenging time."
The patient remains under the care Methodist Hospital.
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