Toddler is ‘castrated’ in botched operation
Written by News on 22/12/2018
A two-year-old boy has been left infertile after surgeons “castrated” him by operating on the wrong testicle.
The child’s family said they were told by specialists that the procedure would be “just a minimal operation” with “minimal risk”.
The child, who has not been named, was admitted to the Bristol Royal Hospital for Children on Monday for treatment of an undescended testicle.
His father said surgeons operated on the wrong one by mistake and “castrated him”.
The University Hospitals Bristol NHS Foundation Trust has apologised and launched an investigation.
The boy’s father, who has remained anonymous to protect his son’s identity, said his son’s undescended testicle was discovered during a routine check-up.
The toddler was referred to a specialist and was booked in for the operation which would last around 30 minutes.
His father told the BBC: “We were waiting and waiting.
“After two-and-a-half hours the manager, surgeons and consultants came and I knew something was not right.
“Me and my wife started panicking, they called us into the office and told us things didn’t go right and the operation wasn’t a success.”
The boy’s parents said they were told a surgeon had mistakenly inserted a camera “into the wrong side” and now their son’s healthy testicle would “never work”.
His father continued: “I was very distressed, it was an awful disaster for a simple operation.
“They destroyed everything and they ruined my son.
“They castrated him and now my son’s future life has dramatically changed.”
The boy’s mother said it was “absolutely horrible” what the surgeons had done.
She said: “They broke my heart and they basically destroyed his future.
“I can’t find the words to explain how I’m feeling – there are no words. Even tears, I have no more tears.
“We just hope for a miracle, this is what we hope.”
Trust medical director Dr William Oldfield said: “On behalf of the Trust, I am deeply sorry that a serious incident has occurred in the treatment of a young child in our care and would like to offer our sincerest apologies.
“As soon as our staff realised what had happened they met with the family to offer their apologies and explain what had happened.
“We take patient safety and standards of clinical care very seriously and have begun a thorough investigation into this matter and will work with the family throughout this process.
“I would again like to offer my apologies to the family for this incident.”
(c) Sky News 2018: Toddler is ‘castrated’ in botched operation
