Doctors at an Irish hospital mistakenly operated on the wrong testicle during a procedure on a patient’s genitalia, it has been revealed.
The incident was one of four wrong-site surgeries recorded in acute hospitals over the past two years, including a case in 2024 when a patient’s incorrect leg was operated on, reports Breaking News.
The Health Service Executive (HSE) described the “low” number of such incidents as “encouraging” over the two-year period.
However, a patient advocacy group criticised this view, insisting that wrong-site surgery should never occur, reports Breaking News.
“Four patients underwent operations on the wrong part of their body. For those four people and their families, there is nothing encouraging about it,” said Stephen McMahon of the Irish Patients Association.
The wrong-site surgeries took place across four separate hospitals. In 2024, incidents were reported at Connolly Hospital, Blanchardstown; Nenagh Hospital in Tipperary; and Croom Orthopaedic Hospital in Limerick, reports Breaking News.
Last year, one wrong-site surgery occurred at St Luke’s General Hospital in Kilkenny, involving a patient’s mouth, which could include teeth, lips, or throat, according to HSE records.
The documents show that in 2024, wrong-site surgery was performed on “reproductive organs/genitalia” at one hospital, where doctors operated on a healthy testicle by mistake, reports Breaking News.
A spokeswoman for the HSE said it could not comment on individual cases.
Wrong-site incidents occur when surgery is performed on a body part not covered by the patient’s documented consent, and can include operating on the correct part but in the wrong location, reports Breaking News.
Such errors can have severe consequences. In 2008, a boy at Our Lady’s Children’s Hospital had his healthy left kidney removed instead of his poorly functioning right kidney.
A State Claims Agency review found that 25 claims for wrong-site surgery were settled between 2016 and 2020, costing taxpayers more than €6 million, reports Breaking News.
The HSE’s data excludes “near-miss” cases, where mistakes were prevented by timely intervention or chance.
The spokeswoman said reporting incidents allows the health service to review what happened, learn from mistakes, and explain outcomes to those affected, reports Breaking News.
Stephen McMahon stressed that wrong-site surgery is classified as a “never event”, meaning it should never happen.
“Never event means never,” he said. “Four patients in Irish hospitals last year had operations carried out on the wrong part of their body—a wrong testicle, the wrong lung or ribs, the wrong leg, and the wrong teeth, lips, or throat, reports Breaking News.
“These patients went into the hospital trusting that basic safety systems would protect them,” he added.
“Wrong-site surgery is regarded internationally as wholly preventable with proper safety measures in place. When applied consistently, these procedures are effective.
“The question is why they were not applied in these four cases. We call on the HSE to review surgical safety protocols across all acute hospitals and report publicly on the findings,” said McMahon, reports Breaking News.
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