Elderly Man Has Wrong Leg Amputated At Hospital In Austria

• A hospital in Austria has sparked controversy after amputating a patient’s wrong leg.
• According to reports, the unfortunate error occurred after the elderly man’s left leg was mistakenly marked.
• Freistadt Clinic has issued an apology about the incident and assured that investigations are currently ongoing.
• The man and his family has since been provided with psychological help following the “tragic mistake.”

A “tragic mistake” in an Austrian hospital has recently led to an elderly man having his wrong leg amputated. According to reports, the 82-year-old patient was scheduled to have his left leg removed.

Unfortunately, the other leg was incorrectly marked before the operation and was amputated above the knee. The error was eventually found out after Thursday’s bandage change and the hospital has since issued a public apology.

In an official statement, the Freistadt Clinic said:

“It was (Thursday) morning, in the course of the standard wound dressing change, that the tragic mistake, caused by human error, was discovered.”

“Due to a chain of unfortunate circumstances, the mistake happened,” the clinic added. “We assure you that we are doing our utmost to clarify the case and to review and question all internal procedures.”

Apparently, the elderly man has been suffering from “numerous medical conditions” affecting his legs and his right leg still has to be removed above the knee for the original operation. His family members have already been informed and was provided psychological support following the incident.

Meanwhile, the hospital described the accident as “a disastrous combination of circumstances” and assured that they will “investigate all internal processes and critically analyze them.”

“Any necessary steps will immediately be taken,” they likewise mentioned.

Norbert Fritsch, medical director of the clinic, said during a media conference:

“We have to find out how this failure, this mistake could happen. I would like to apologize publicly here.”