Hong Kong public hospital apologises after brain goes missing following autopsy
North District Hospital says it will assist police investigations, as patients’ rights group questions string of ‘very serious mistakes’
The management of a Hong Kong public hospital on Friday expressed “deep regret” and apologised over a case in which a brain went missing after an autopsy.
Dr Abdul Karim Bin Kitchell, deputising executive director of North District Hospital, said officers at its morgue discovered the organ was missing on Wednesday. The case was reported to management on Friday morning.
Kitchell said family members of the dead patient, as well as the Hospital Authority, coroner and police were then informed.
Hong Kong brain surgeon drills hole in wrong side of patient’s head
The autopsy was conducted on March 2, less than a week after the female patient, 71, died on February 25. She had been admitted to hospital for mental disorders on February 22. The hospital was unable to determine the cause of death immediately and reported the case to the coroner.
During the autopsy, the patient’s brain was removed, immersed in formalin and stored for further examination. The test was planned for weeks later to allow time for the chemical to set into the brain tissue, according to Dr Wan Suk-king, chief of services (clinical pathology) at the hospital.
The sample room, where the brain was stored, was not locked or under video surveillance, Kitchell said.
Hong Kong brain surgeon operates on wrong side of patient’s skull
On April 6, the patient’s body was claimed by family members and cremated. Four days later on Tuesday, doctors of the hospital’s pathology department requested the brain to conduct the tests.