Hong Kong brain surgeon drills hole in wrong side of patient’s head
It is the second brain surgery blunder to happen in the city within the space of four months
An investigation has been launched after the Princess Margaret Hospital doctor performed surgery on the right side of the patient’s head, when it should have been done on the left.
Four months ago, a Queen Elizabeth Hospital neurosurgeon wrongly performed surgery on the left side of the brain of a 54-year-old woman, while it was the right side that required treatment.
In the latest case, the elderly man was admitted to the Princess Margaret Hospital’s neurosurgery ward on Wednesday after suffering an accumulation of blood between the layers of tissue around the brain. He was set to have an urgent burr hole operation on the left side of his skull to remove the blood clots.
When few clots were seen after opening a thick part of the membrane outside the brain, the neurosurgeon realised the error.
The doctor then closed the wound on the right side and proceeded to remove the blood clots on the left side of the brain.