George Piano, who had surgery for an urgent appendix removal learned his surgeons removed a different organ instead, leading to four more surgeries and chronic pain that has lasted for nearly a year. Photo / KIRO
George Piano, who had surgery for an urgent appendix removal learned his surgeons removed a different organ instead, leading to four more surgeries and chronic pain that has lasted for nearly a year. Photo / KIRO
A US man almost died after two surgeons who were supposed to operate on his appendix accidentally removed the wrong organ, leaving him with a lifetime of medical problems.
George Piano arrived with extreme stomach pain at the University of Washington Medical Centre’s emergency room in Seattle on December 6, 2022, he was diagnosed with appendicitis and underwent what was supposed to be an appendectomy operation.
But he is now suing the University of Washington Hospital after the surgeons removed part of his colon instead.
Piano’s stomach pain worsened after the procedure and two days later, the medical centre told him his appendix was still inside his body, the complaint says.
That’s when he received the devastating news that surgeons had actually removed part of his colon, which was what was making his medical situation even worse.
“When I woke up and came out of the drugs, I was in serious pain. Much worse than I had been in when I went to the hospital,” he told local media.
According to the lawsuit, Piano’s surgeon then told him he needed an additional procedure to repair a new issue — a “leaky colon” — as a result of the first surgery.
“I was suffering from a leaking colon that created sepsis and infection,” Piano told KIRO 7 News in an interview. “And I almost died from it.
“I’m not the same person I was when this started.”
George Piano and his wife Elizabeth Piano before his botched surgery. Photo / Facebook
He then needed follow up surgery to remove his appendix that was still inside his body.
Piano has been left with “numerous medical problems” and needed an ileostomy bag installed “where [his] intestine protruded from the abdomen so that all waste would be expelled into the bag”, according to the complaint.
He spent 53 days in hospital and claims he had an open wound in his abdomen for months that led to intense pain. During his time in hospital he claimed he lost around 18kg.
According to the lawsuit, the surgeon who performed “the alleged botched appendectomy” did not address the situation until more than a week later.
Piano and his family reportedly did not want to file the lawsuit but they felt it was necessary after they did not get a response from the hospital.
UW Medicine media relations director Susan Gregg said in a statement on November 7 that “we are unable to comment on the specifics of the case”.
“UW Medicine strives to provide the best possible care to all of our patients; their safety and wellbeing is deeply important to us,” Gregg added.
The lawsuit also claims Piano had to delay seeking cancer treatment because of the botched surgery.
His marital life also became strained because of the surgical error, explaining that his wife had to delay and reschedule her own medical appointments to care for her husband, which included tending to his wounds and emptying his ileostomy bag.
