The Knuckleheads of the Day award

Today's winners are the doctors and staff of Konyang University Hospital in Taejon South Korea. Two women in their 60's were there for surgery. One for thyroid removal, the other for her stomach. These knuckleheads screwed up by doing the surgery on the wrong patients.

Both women are alive, but after hearing the battle my late Uncle had with stomach cancer, I can tell you the woman who had her stomach removed even temporarily has had life ruined. How would you like to have to be fed by a tube or have a VERY restricted diet because of the wrong surgery being performed.

Sorry, this easily tops the Ray Nagin story from yesterday. For preposterous medical incompetence, Konyang University Hospital is today's knucklehead of the day.

Hat tip- Jo's Cafe,
Open Post- Basil's Blog, Adam's Blog, Don Surber, Bright & Early, Right Wing Nation,

SEOUL (Reuters) - South Korean doctors mistakenly removed part of the stomach of a patient due to have thyroid surgery, while removing the thyroid gland of another scheduled for stomach surgery, a hospital official said Monday.

The surgical mix-up took place at Konyang University Hospital in the city of Taejon, about 150 km (95 miles) south of Seoul and involved two women in their sixties who were both in for surgery the same day, hospital spokesman Kim Man-sik said.

Medical staff found out about the mix-up, which took place on December 29, only after they were filing paperwork on the two women, he said.

Doctors later performed the correct surgical procedures on both women and re-attached the part of the stomach they had removed from the patient with the thyroid problem, Kim said.
Both were recovering from their operations, he said.