Horrifying Surgeries Gone Very, Very Wrong

No one looks forward to having surgery. It doesn’t matter if it’s a routine procedure or a more complicated operation, there is always a risk that the patient will come out worse than when he or she went in. Or even worse, that the patient will die. In 2014, the Journal of Patient Safety asserted that between 210,000 and 440,000 patients annually are subjected to “preventable medical harm” in America. That means medical errors, such as botched surgeries, are now the third-leading cause of death in the United States. Check out some of these horrific stories of surgeons who operated on the wrong body part, didn’t have proper certification, or simply made gigantic mistakes.

This article will make you want to research your own doctor thoroughly if you ever need surgery.

A Needle & Other Items Were Left Inside The Patient

Dirk Schroeder, 74, had a life-saving operation in Germany to remove a tumor. After the procedure, he complained of terrible pain. When the nurse checked him out to find the source of his pain, she spotted a piece of gauze coming out of his wound. The medical team later determined that Schroeder’s body was filled with 16 different items, including a surgical mask, needle, and bandages. The doctors did not claim responsibility; in fact, they blamed Schroeder and said he ate the items. The surgeons absolutely refused to admit that they were at fault. You can imagine the lawsuit that happened after that little snafu.

Elective cosmetic surgery led the next man to a permanent facial disfigurement.