Surgeon Removes Patient's Healthy Organ Instead of Tumor

On March 1, 2023, 43-year-old Mitchell from Skowhegan was admitted for surgery to remove a benign tumor found on his left testicle. Due to the tumor's growth, it was planned to be removed laparoscopically.

However, during the operation, Dr. Daniel Gagnon completely excised the patient's healthy bladder instead of the tumor. This was discovered during a subsequent pathological examination. The expertise showed that the removed tissue belonged to the bladder wall.

Despite this, the mistake went unnoticed until the patient returned to the hospital for a second time. Mitchell suffered from severe pain, abdominal swelling, and the inability to urinate. After a re-examination, doctors stated that there was almost no possibility of restoring the bladder.

Following this, the patient lived for more than eight months dependent on bilateral nephrostomy tubes. The tubes were installed to drain urine directly from the kidneys rather than into the bladder. During this period, he repeatedly suffered from urinary tract and kidney infections.

In a complex surgery performed in Boston in October 2023, surgeons constructed a new bladder using Mitchell's intestinal tissue. However, this did not completely restore his life to normal. To this day, he uses a catheter several times a day and remains under constant medical supervision.