A Washington man is suing a hospital and two of its doctors for negligence for allegedly removing the wrong organ during surgery, nearly costing him his life.
“It’s been an incredible year,” George Piano, 72, told USA Today while detailing the alleged mishap, which he said occurred on December 6, 2022 at the University of Washington Northwest Medical Center.
According to the 13-page lawsuit he filed last week, the Lake Forest Park resident visited the facility’s emergency room due to abdominal pain, after which doctors diagnosed him with appendicitis and said his appendix had to go.
Piano said things didn’t go as planned.
“When I woke up and came off the drugs, I felt intense pain,” he recalled. “Much worse than when I went to the hospital.”
George Piano and his wife, Betsy, live in Washington. Law Offices of Edward H. Moore, PC He is suing a hospital and two of its doctors for negligence for allegedly removing the wrong organ during surgery, which nearly cost him his life.KIRO 7
He claims that doctors were unable to locate his appendix and ended up removing a portion of the lower part of his colon.
A CT scan two days later revealed that the swollen appendix was still there, prompting Piano to remove it at UWMCN, local CBS affiliate KIRO-TV reported.
Meanwhile, doctors had allegedly punctured his colon during the initial operation, causing its contents to spill into his abdominal cavity and making him “much sicker.”
“I was suffering from a colon leak that caused sepsis and infection,” Piano told KIRO. “And I almost died because of it.”
According to the 13-page lawsuit he filed last week, he visited the emergency room at the University of Washington Northwest Medical Center because of abdominal pain, after which doctors diagnosed him with appendicitis and said his appendix had to go. KHQ-TV Claims Doctors Unable to Locate Her Appendix and Ended Up Removing Part of Her Lower Colon .KIRO 7
Piano said he underwent another surgery to repair his colon and control the infection.
He claims that when the surgeon who performed the supposedly botched appendectomy addressed the situation eight days later, “he seemed to just make light of it.”
Personal injury attorney Edward Moore, who represents Piano, called the ordeal “mind-blowing.”
“I’ve never heard of anyone not being able to locate an appendix,” Moore told KIRO. “For this to result in this kind of damage and disruption is mind-boggling.”
“UW Medicine strives to provide the best care possible to all of our patients; “Your safety and well-being is deeply important to us,” the hospital said in a statement.KIRO 7
Surgeons Nidhi Udyavar and Paul Herman are named in the lawsuit.
A representative for Washington University of Medicine said the hospital could not comment on the pending litigation and instead provided a statement to USA Today.
“UW Medicine strives to provide the best care possible to all of our patients; Your safety and well-being is deeply important to us,” he said.
Piano said he underwent four additional surgeries, spent 53 days in the hospital, needed an ileostomy bag, lost about 40 pounds, had a billiard-ball-sized wound in his abdomen for months and suffered anxiety, loss of short-term memory and Intense Pain.
“It’s been a difficult road,” Piano told KIRO.
He is asking for a jury trial and monetary damages, although the exact dollar amount is unknown.
Piano said he suffered anxiety, short-term memory loss and severe pain.KIRO 7
“I’m not the same person I was when this started,” Piano lamented to KIRO.
He hopes the lawsuit will help prevent other hospital patients from finding themselves in similar situations.
“Someone needed to put a stop to this and take responsibility and say this happened; we need to take action to make sure it doesn’t happen again,” Piano said.
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Source: vtt.edu.vn