Surgeon Removed Woman's Kidney By Mistake, Lawsuit Claims
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (CBS Local) - An Iowa woman is suing her doctor after he allegedly removed her kidney instead of another body part during surgery in 2016.
Dena Knapp was at Avera McKennan Hospital in South Dakota two years ago to have her adrenal gland removed. According to WTVR, Dr. Scott Baker erroneously took out Knapp's healthy right kidney instead of the gland and a mass that had formed on it.
Knapp's lawsuit claims that she was told a week after the Oct. 5 surgery that Dr. Baker had taken out the kidney by mistake. Baker allegedly added that "he did not get everything" and Knapp would need a second surgery on her adrenal gland.
The Iowa woman moved to the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota for the corrective surgery however, Knapp's lawsuit claims she now suffers from incurable, progressive kidney disease due to the error. The complaint, filed in federal court, adds that Knapp also suffers from pain, fatigue, depression, and mental distress from the botched procedure.
"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 against Baker states, according to USA Today.
Officials for the Surgical Institute of South Dakota, which is also named in Knapp's lawsuit, did not comment on the upcoming legal case.