Austria: A surgeon "cut" the wrong leg of her patient

An unbelievable and at the same time tragic incident happened in Austria, as a surgeon mutilated the wrong leg of one of her patients, as a result of which she was fined.

In particular, the right leg of an elderly patient was removed instead of the left, with the mistake… being revealed just two days later.

On Wednesday, a court in Linz found the 43-year-old guilty surgeon guilty of gross negligence and fined her 2.700 euros.

The patient's widow, who died before the case reached court, was also awarded 5.000 euros in damages.

The patient was admitted to the Freistadt clinic last May for amputation of his leg, but the surgeon noted the wrong limb for amputation, according to the BBC.

The error was detected during a routine bandage change, and the patient was told that his other leg would have to be amputated.

At the time, the hospital said the incident was the result of "a series of unfortunate circumstances", while its director publicly apologized during a press conference.

The trial

In court, the surgeon said there was an error in the surgery procedure.

When asked why he had marked his right foot and not his left, he said: "I just do not know."

After the incident, she changed her clinic, while half of her fine has been suspended.

It is worth noting that such cases are rare, however there have been similar incidents in the past.

In 1995, a doctor in the United States discovered in the middle of surgery that he was amputating the wrong leg of a diabetic patient.

He was forced to continue after cutting muscles, tendons and ligaments.

in.gr