Surgeon removes woman's kidney during spinal surgery after mistaking it for a tumor
Maureen Pacheo checked into Wellington Regional Medical Center in April 2016 to have a few vertebrae in her lower back fused together and was left devastated after losing a kidney
A surgeon from Florida has reportedly agreed to pay a sum of $3,000 as fine after he removed a woman's kidney during a back surgery. Reports state that the surgeon, identified as Ramon Vazquez, will also have to perform hours of continued medical training after the gaffe.
Court records state that the patient, Maureen Pacheo, checked into Wellington Regional Medical Center in April 2016 to have a few vertebrae in her lower back fused together. Pacheo, according to the Washington Post, was not consulted about the change of plans.
According to a lawsuit that was settled in September, Vazquez, during her surgery, mistook her kidney for a cancerous tumor in her pelvis and cut it out.