Doctor Removed Woman's Kidney Wrongly During Botched Surgery, Sued

A South Dakota surgeon has been sued for wrongly removing an Iowa woman's kidney during a botched surgery. The lawsuit filed this week by Dena Knapp stated that Dr. Scott Baker erroneously removed her healthy right kidney instead of removing an adrenal gland and a mass on the gland.

Knapp underwent a surgery in Sioux Falls in 2016 and later found out that one of her kidneys was missing. The botched surgery resulted in an incurable and progressive kidney disease in Knapp’s remaining kidney that has caused pain and mental distress, the lawsuit alleges. Knapp only learned about her missing kidney six days after the surgery. According to the court filing, she was told the adrenal gland was still inside and additional surgery was needed.

"Since the erroneous surgery, Dena has been unable to perform many functions and has required replacement services to clean and maintain her home, the past and future cost of which is yet to be determined," the lawsuit reads. However, the expenses incurred by Knapp is said to be in excess of $96,000 so far, and she has also lost an estimated $42,000 worth of earnings.

Baker was informed by the pathology department at Avera McKennan Hospital that he removed the organ and failed to remove the adrenal gland.

Knapp eventually had a second surgery at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, to remove the gland and mass.

This is not the first time such an incident took place where a doctor removed a wrong organ in a botched surgery. In 2016, an 83-year-old man accused doctors at a New York hospital of wrongly removing his healthy kidney instead of just removing a softball sized malignant tumor on his right kidney.

In another incident the same year, a woman who went to a hospital in Bristol for surgery on a bowel disorder had her ovaries wrongly removed by the doctor. The incident left the woman in distress due to which she killed herself.