Lawsuit: Allina Surgeon Was Supposed To Remove Woman's Spleen, But Took A Kidney

Lawsuit: Allina Surgeon Was Supposed To Remove Woman's Spleen, But Took A Kidney

The lawsuit says the Plymouth woman now has kidney disease.

Allina Health and one of its surgeons are being sued by a Twin Cities patient who alleges she had the wrong organ removed by mistake.

A malpractice lawsuit filed in Minnesota District Court by a Plymouth woman says she was admitted to Abbott Northwestern Hospital on Mar. 24, 2022, for a "spleen abcsess or rupture."

She was scheduled for spleen removal surgery four days later and met with her surgeon, Devon Callahan, MD, who went over the procedure and risks with her, the lawsuit continues.

Dr. Callahan carried out an open laparotomy procedure, but instead of removing her spleen, the lawsuit claims he removed her left kidney in error.

Tony Webster, Flickr

The suit claims Dr. Callahan wrote in his post-op notes that he had removed an "intact spleen." However, a CT scan after the operation showed a kidney was missing, and that spleen tissue was still present along with the infection.

The patient remained in the hospital for two months due to complications resulting from her kidney being removed, the suit states. She has since been diagnosed with stage 5 kidney disease and requires dialysis.

The woman is seeking an award in excess of $50,000 plus her attorney fees. Allina Health, Dr. Devon Callahan, and Allina Health Surgical Specialists are named in the suit.

Bring Me The News has reached out to Allina Health for comment and hasn't received a response.

The health system did however provide one to FOX 9, claiming that the "court filings don’t accurately reflect the full picture of the patient’s condition or the life-saving medical care provided."

"We intend to vigorously defend, in court, the care that was provided," it said.

SOURCE: Bring Me The News