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A Florida surgeon has agreed to pay a $3,000 fine, as well as perform hours of continued medical training, afterremoving a woman’s kidneyduring what was intended to be back surgery.
According to court records, Maureen Pacheco, who checked into Florida’s Wellington Regional Medical Center in April 2016 to have a few vertebra in her lower back fused together, was not consulted about the change of plans, theWashington Postreported.
However, during the back procedure, surgeon Ramon Vazquez mistook her kidney for a cancerous tumor in Pacheco’s pelvis and cut it out, according to thePalm Beach Post, citing a lawsuit that had been settled in September.
A pathologist at the hospital confirmed that the tumor was actually a pelvic kidney, thePalm Beach Postreported. Pelvic kidneys refer to organs that failed “to ascend to their normal position above the waist” during fetal development, ” according to theAnn & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago.
Vasquez has also agreed to perform a one-hour lecture regarding wrong-site surgery “to the entire medical staff of the hospital” where he maintains staff privileges, according to the documents.
Additionally the surgeon will pay the $4,817.90 in costs the Florida Department of Health incurred while investigating and prosecuting the case.
Prior to reaching the final agreement, the Florida Board of Medicine initially rejected a settlement that carried only a $1,500 fine, according to thePalm Beach Post.
In a statement, the surgeon’s attorney, Michael Burt told thePalm Beach Post,“Dr. Vazquez is an excellent surgeon who has been providing exemplary, often life-saving services in our community for many years. In this instance he, in collaboration with other members of the surgical team, exercised professional judgement.”
The complaint also claimed that Vazquez made a “presumptive diagnosis” and did not perform a “biopsy of the mass…given the potential malignancy.”
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According to the lawsuit, Vazquez — who had no prior record of discipline on file with the state’s Board of Medicine — was not consulted about the two MRIs that had been performed ahead of the procedure, in which the kidney could be clearly seen, according to thePalm Beach Post.
Prior to agreeing to the final order, Vazquez told the Florida Board of Medicine on Dec. 7 that while Pacheco’s test results were not available to him at the time of her surgery, he now makes sure he reviews all films of patients, according to the outlet.
source: people.com
