Doctors at an Austrian hospital amputated the wrong leg of an elderly man, in what is being described as a "tragic mistake".
As per a report in Reuters, the 82-year-old patient was supposed to have his left leg removed on Tuesday, but doctors instead amputated his right leg above the knee, which the hospital, the Freistadt Clinic in northern Austria,?blamed on "human error."
"We are deeply shocked that on Tuesday, May 18, despite quality assurance standards, the wrong leg of an 82-year old man ... was amputated,"?the clinic said in a statement,?Reuters reported.?
It was said that the mistake was first noticed during a bandage change on Thursday morning.?
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The man is suffering from "numerous medical conditions," the hospital said, and past sicknesses caused the need for amputation.??
The hospital said that the error appeared to have ben made before the operation, when a worker incorrectly marked his right leg as one to operate on.?
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"Unfortunately the mistake, in which the right leg was removed instead of the left, occurred as a result of a sequence of unfortunate circumstances," it said.
The hospital added that it was investigating what happened and would review its standards.
The patient and his relatives had been offered psychological help, the company added. The elderly man also still needs to have his second leg removed for the original operation.??
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