A Surgeon Got Fined $3,000 For Removing A Person's Kidney Thinking It Was A Tumor

Fox News- A Florida surgeon has agreed to pay a $3,000 fine after removing a woman’s kidney that he thought was a tumor. West Palm Beach surgeon Ramon Vasquez cut Maureen Pacheco open in 2016 so two surgeons could perform a back operation at the Wellington Regional Medical Center, according to the Florida Board of Medicine. But the patient had a healthy kidney that never ascended into her abdomen, prompting Vasquez to believe it was a cancerous tumor. He removed it without her consent, the board said. “Dr. Vazquez is an excellent surgeon who has been providing exemplary, often life-saving services in our community for many years,” the surgeon’s attorney, Michael Burt, told the Palm Beach Post. “In this instance he, in collaboration with other members of the surgical team, exercised professional judgment.” Vasquez admitted to not reviewing Pacheco’s medical records before the surgery. She later sued the two surgeons, who each settled for $25,000.

I’m just gonna say it, that can’t happen. It can’t happen! You can’t make your living being a surgeon and then accidentally remove a person’s kidney because you think it’s a tumor. Knowing the difference between a cancerous tumor and a vital organ is your #1 job. And sure, you could say you’d rather have a surgeon remove something they think is a tumor rather than be like, “Ehhhhhhh I think that’s fine” and have it turn out to be cancer but we’re talking about a kidney. That’s one of the main ones. If a surgeon accidentally removes a gall bladder, fine, but a kidney? I had a steady 1.7 GPA in college and I know what a kidney looks like and would know not to remove it. That’s inexcusable.

That surgeon should never be allowed to perform surgery on anyone ever again. How could a hospital possibly justify hiring a surgeon who fucked up this badly? How could a patient ever trust that surgeon ever again?  Imagine going in for surgery and you start hearing whispers that your surgeon is the one who removed a kidney for no reason at all. I’d hop up off the table and sprint away as fast as I could. I’ll perform surgery on myself before I let Mr. Is That Cancer Or Is That A Kidney cut me open.

$3,000 is way too low, right? Like insultingly low? I’m not a malpractice lawyer but I’m pretty sure this person could’ve sued for millions and millions of dollars. People get 10 million dollars any time a surgeon accidentally leaves a q-tip in a patient they operated on so removing a perfectly fine kidney should be at least a billion dollars.