Confused Doctor Operates On The Wrong Limb
Last April, Ali, a 39-year-old athlete, went to the hospital for a simple little knee checkup. The verdict: he must have an operation on the meniscus of his left knee. Emphasis on LEFT knee. This is important for the rest of the story.
He got on the operating table and was anesthetized. So far, so good. But upon leaving the operating room, the doctor informed him that there was a small problem with the nurses but he doesn't elaborate beyond that. It's only a few hours later once the effect of the anesthesia has dissipated that Ali realizes that he has two bandages. One on the left knee, one on the right knee. After several more hours, Ali learns that the surgeon was simply wrong. Yes, he mixed up his left and right.
During the operation, the Doctor made the simple but huge mistake of opening up the wrong knee. Obviously, he realized it too late, and subsequently decided to treat the actual bad knee to make up for his mistake. Clearly working with his head in the clouds, the surgeon had also "forgotten" to specify this minor detail in his records for the procedure. Interesting.
It's been a few months, so what's happened since then? Frankly, nothing. The 39-year-old is still fighting with the hospital. Will there be consequences? Who knows! All we know is that a doctor (any adult really) should know left from right, but next time you're scheduled for a procedure, you might want to write "no" in marker all over your good limbs just in case.
