A California woman who allegedly went into surgery to have a diseased kidney removed and came out missing her spleen in a screwup that took five specialists to figure out is suing, according to a report.
Sarajane Parfitt, 55, who is now facing another operation to remove the kidney, suffered severe emotional distress and is vulnerable to infections thanks to the botched operation, according to the suit.
“During this difficult time for patient Sarajane Parfitt and her family members, we offer our sympathy,” Community Regional Medical Center said in a statement to the Fresno Bee. “Because this case is pending, we are unable to comment.”
A medical mistake left a Fresno County woman missing the wrong organ after a surgeon operated to remove a diseased kidney, according to a new lawsuit. https://t.co/DDnK70FUVW
— ABC30 Fresno (@ABC30) July 7, 2022
The mistake initially went undetected following the June, 2021, operation. But when the organ was examined by a pathologist, he “was so astonished, he asked other pathologists to confirm his diagnoses,” according to the suit. Ultimately, five pathologists agreed the organ submitted for examination was a spleen, and not a kidney.
“They called the hospital,” said Parfitt’s attorney Paul Pimentel. “The hospital immediately runs a CT scan and sure enough, her kidney which should’ve been removed, was still there. They’d taken out the wrong organ, her spleen.”
Pimentel called the surgical error “insane.”
The lawsuit names Dr. Narayana Ambati, Community Regional Medical Center and Urology Associates of Central California. Also mentioned is another doctor identified as Shahin Chandrasoma of Pasadena.
Mike Ball, an attorney for Ambati, told the Fresno Bee the incident was fully investigated by the California Department of Public Health and that the surgeon was, Chandrasoma, who was a visiting surgeon.
Pimentel acknowledged it is possible that Ambati did not perform the surgery, but said he hadn’t “had that confirmed.”
When a spleen is removed, other organs take over its functions, but it brings a higher risk of serious infections, according to the Mayo Clinic.
“She’s at risk for infections and she has to be very sensitive to that issue,” Pimentel said. “She’s had to have a lot of injections to prevent infections in the future. And she still needs her kidney out.”
In a 2017 case in Orange County, California, a Santa Ana urologist was barred from further kidney surgeries after removing a patient’s spleen instead of a kidney, according to The LAist.