Patient left legless after mistaken amputation in Brazilian hospital

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/oct/09/patient-legless-mistaken-amputation-brazilian-hospital

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A Brazilian hospital says a patient with diabetic kidney failure has been left legless after doctors mistakenly amputated the wrong limb.

Marilda Santos is the spokesperson for Rio de Janeiro's Pedro Ernesto University Hospital. She said that on Friday doctors were supposed to amputate the right leg of Antonio Cesar Victorio but instead they removed his left leg.

"When the patient's daughter told doctors they had removed the wrong leg, they amputated the other leg as well," Santos said.

She said the hospital is trying to determine if doctors committed a medical error or if they "removed the left leg because it too was compromised by the patient's disease".

Victorio's daughter told the O Globo newspaper that the family plans to sue.

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