Man wakes up after surgery to discover he accidentally had a vasectomy instead of gallbladder surgery
- Jorge Base said doctors have told him the chances of reversing the mistake are minimal
A man woke up to discover he had accidentally had a vasectomy after being hospitalized for gallbladder surgery in Argentina.
Doctors are said to have committed the blunder after postponing Jorge Base’s operation by 24 hours from last Tuesday to last Wednesday, the day of the week when gallbladder operations are never performed at the medical center.
The 41-year-old told Argentinian TV channel El Doce: ‘I have three grown boys… but I dreamed of having a girl.
‘Doctors have already explained to me that the options for undoing the error are minimal.
‘I feel so angry and helpless. I can’t understand how they made such a mistake when the gallbladder was all over my medical records.
Jorge Base in the hospital. It is believed that doctors committed the blunder after delaying Jorge’s operation by 24 hours from last Tuesday to last Wednesday, the day of the week when gallbladder operations are never performed at the medical center.
‘I would like to find a solution, but the solution the health professionals are giving me is artificial insemination if I want to conceive another child.’
The medical error occurred at the Florencio Diaz state hospital in the city of Cordoba. a seven-hour drive northwest of the Argentine capital Buenos Aires.
Jorge’s lawyer Diego Larrey said: ‘My client wanted to die when he came to and realized he had had a vasectomy.
‘The hospital ended up performing the gallbladder surgery, the only one he should have had, the same day.
“That operation was supposed to take place last Tuesday and was postponed to the next day at 9 a.m.”
He added: ‘My client was not asked anything when he arrived at the hospital, which took him by surprise. They put his gown on him and took him to the operating room.
‘It was a nurse who told him there had been a mistake when he came in after the operation.
“The confusion apparently arose because they weren’t doing gallbladder surgery at the hospital on Wednesday and he mistakenly ended up on the list of people who needed a vasectomy.”
Mr Larrey confirmed that Jorge was planning to start a family with his new partner, saying: ‘No one from the hospital or local health authority has contacted me.’
The 41-year-old said: ‘I have three grown boys… but I dreamed of having a girl. Doctors have already explained to me that the possibilities to undo the mistake are minimal’ (File Photo)
In May last year, a doctor was ordered to pay child support to a couple in Medellin, Colombia, until their baby turned 18 after the father had a vasectomy.
The couple, who were not named, were stunned to discover that the man had made the woman pregnant after undergoing a vasectomy at a health clinic.
The father had decided to follow the procedure in 2012 to prevent him from having more children with his wife because they did not have enough income.
He even underwent an examination at the clinic to ensure the vasectomy had been effective, with the clinic confirming that it had.
But after discovering his wife was pregnant, the couple, who already had two children, sued the doctor and the health clinic in 2017.
After a lengthy legal battle in which the parents argued that they had unintentionally become parents again on October 1, 2013 due to an incorrect medical procedure, the judge ruled that the doctor and the health authority responsible for the clinic should pay legal costs and child rights. support totaling COP 295 million (£59,517) until the baby turns 18.