There are simple mnemonics you can use to remember all the crap you're responsible for in life, like patting yourself down and repeating the mantra "spectacles, testicles, wallet, and watch" before leaving your apartment. Or, if you've gotten extremely stoned and can't find your cell phone, ask the person you're talking to on the phone for help. But it seems a Westchester surgeon needs to start tying a few strings around his forgetful fingers: a lawsuit alleges that a patient who went in for an appendectomy walked out with his appendix still inside him.
43-year-old Bronxville resident William McCormack is suing Lawrence Hospital and Dr. Michael Kerin, a Tuckahoe surgeon who claimed he removed McCormack's appendix in January 2013. It's unclear what Kerin actually removed—although the sample taken out of McCormack's body was labeled "appendix," his lawyer tells CBS 2, “We have the pathology report from Lawrence Hospital after the first operation which says what was presented to the pathology department was not the appendix. It said it was a three centimeter yellowish mass."
While visiting lovely Lake Placid last month, McCormack doubled over with the sort of severe abdominal pain one associates with potentially fatal appendix problems. Rushed to a nearby hospital, it was discovered that, lo and behold, his freaking appendix was still there, poised to strike him dead. "It was discovered that (McCormack's) appendix was never removed and was still inside him," court papers allege.
Oopsy! Luckily, McCormack survived the emergency appendectomy, and now he's suing Lawrence Hospital and the surgeon for unspecified damages. It's unclear if he'll ever get that three centimeter yellowish mass back.
Of course, those of us who fearfully Google operating room mishaps know these SNAFUS happen All. The. Time.
