What a horrible and complete avoidable mistake. My simply attaching a tag identifing the correct side, to the patient’s wrist or ankle this could have been prevented. Some doctor’s seem to be in too much of a hurry.

It seems that medical care has become a game of guest which kidney, which leg, which arm, which eye, etc. Combine that with which patient and which ailment and the situation gets serious quickly — for the patient that is. No wonder people have a diminished opinion of the medical profession.

About 15 years ago….before we heard so much about these types of things….my grandmother had knee surgery and used a black permanent marker to make an X over the knee that was not supposed to be operated on. I thought that was extreme and a bit neurotic, but after reading this story, I think I may very well do the same thing if the time ever comes…

This breaks my heart. My kidney was removed as a child due to its nonfunctioning. I can’t imagine how my life would have changed if they had taken out the only good kidney that I had. I hope this hospital does the right thing and insures this child is taken care of going forward.

What has happened to the medical profession? I thought issues like this would have gotten better by now. Don’t the doctors “mark” which side the surgeries are suppose to be on, don’t they talk about what they are suppose to be doing before they make a cut? Guess we will need to write in permament ink on our bodies what we are having done before we give ourselves or loved ones over to the “professionals”.