Woman left ‘permanently disfigured’ after hospital removes part of genitalia by mistake

An Australian grandmother has said she's lost all her confidence after a medical mix-up left her permanently disfigured.

Debra Buchanan was attending hospital for a routine procedure earlier this year but ended up having part of her genitalia removed after staff allegedly mistook her for another patient with the same first name.

She was due to have a cancerous skin lesion removed but knew something was wrong when she was bleeding heavily after going to the bathroom and following the devastating development, she found it incredibly hard to return to the hospital for her original procedure.

Recounting the moment that staff are said to have mixed her up to A Current Affair, Debra said: “They called Deborah, and I said, ‘Did you mean Buchanan?’ And they said, ‘Oh yes, you’ll do.’”

“The woman next to me said, ‘I’m Deborah,’ and they said, ‘Oh no, we’ve got the right one.’”

Having worked in her career as a dental nurse, she found it difficult to believe that medical staff would identify someone based off their first name alone, but she was still prepared for the procedure.

When she came out however, she immediately noticed that she was bleeding heavily after using the toilet, which suggested that something had gone very wrong.

She called her husband to tell him things had gone wrong (a Current affair)

She said: “She came in, I said, ‘Can you explain why I’m bleeding so badly?’ She said, ‘Oh, that’s part of the operation.’ And I said, ‘What operation?’ I said, ‘I had it on here,’ and as I touched it, it was still there.”

Although a junior surgeon was brought in, they seemed equally confused when she suggested that the surgery had been done on a completely different part of her body, and Debra was later discharged with 'very little explanation' from staff.

“I got a little bit to say that because of the two Debras, and also they were understaffed at the time. I found it very difficult to listen to,” she said.

Unsurprisingly, the incident didn't just take a physical toll on Debra, as she was understandably anxious and emotional about returning for any future procedures, which included having the lesion removed.

“I was terrified,” she admitted.

“Every time I have to go to the doctor, anxious; I’ve lost my confidence. You can’t make a mistake on a person. It’s not like breaking a cup. It’s life to them.”

Medical negligence lawyer Erin Monsalve Fear of Carbone Lawyers described the alleged mistake as 'almost unimaginable'.

She claims not to have had an apology from the hospital (A Current Affair)

“The fact that she was never consulted nor consented appropriately for the surgery prior to it taking place, and I think that’s one of the biggest things that it boils down to,” she said.

In a statement, Western Health chief operating officer John Ferraro said patient safety remained the organisation's highest priority.

“Due to our obligations to protect patient privacy and confidentiality, we are unable to comment on the care of any individual patient,” he said.

“In line with Victoria’s Statutory Duty of Candour requirements, where a patient adverse event has occurred, we provide an apology, meet with the patient, undertake a review of the incident, and share the findings and actions taken to help prevent a recurrence.

LADbible has contacted Western Health for comment.