Man has wrong organ removed by Surgeons who ‘couldn’t find’ his appendix
A man from Lake Forest Park is fighting for justice and his life after an alleged botched surgery at the University of Washington Medicine. George Piano’s quest for a routine appendix removal turned into a nightmare when, a surgeon mistakenly removed a chunk of his colon instead.
What should have been a straightforward appendectomy on December 6, 2022, became a medical saga that Piano describes as a “hell of a year.” The lawsuit alleges that not only did the surgeon misidentify the appendix, leaving it inflamed, but he also punctured the colon, leading to a cascade of health issues. Piano, who endured four additional surgeries, an ileostomy bag, and a sizable abdominal wound, stated, “I’m not the same person I was when this started.”
The lawsuit’s gravity is heightened by an assessment from a third-party surgical expert, Dr. Hobart Harris, who suggests that the surgeon breached the standard of care by “misidentifying the sigmoid colon for the appendix” and “perforating the sigmoid colon while thinking they are dividing the base of the appendix.”
The aftermath left Piano with 40 pounds lost, 53 days in the hospital, anxiety, and short-term memory loss. His wife, Betsy Piano, described the trauma as “horrifying.” Personal injury attorney Edward Moore, representing the Pianos, expressed disbelief, stating, “I’ve never heard of someone who was unable to locate an appendix. For it to result in this kind of harm and disruption is mind-boggling.”
The Pianos, who initially hesitated to file a lawsuit, felt compelled to act after receiving no response from the hospital. George Piano, grateful for his survival, emphasized the need to prevent such incidents, stating, “We didn’t want it to happen to someone else. Someone needed to put a stop to this and take responsibility and say this happened – we need to take steps to make sure it doesn’t happen again.”
As the lawsuit unfolds, the specifics are yet to be addressed by UW Medicine, which stated in a response, “We strive to provide the best possible care to all of our patients; their safety and well-being is deeply important to us. This suit was just filed yesterday, so, given the timeline, we are not able to comment on the specifics of the case.” The question remains, how did a routine surgery turn into a life-altering catastrophe, and what measures will be taken to prevent a recurrence?