A 59-year-old woman in Hong Kong found herself facing a devastating situation when she was informed that she had endometrial cancer, leading to the decision to undergo surgery to remove her uterus, ovaries, and oviduct.
However, it later emerged that she did not have cancer at all.
This shocking revelation came to light after her biopsy samples were mistakenly mixed up with those of a 71-year-old patient at Pok Oi Hospital in the Yuen Long district, who was an actual cancer patient.
According to the South China Morning Post (SCMP), the woman underwent the surgery on February 26, approximately five weeks after initially being told she had cancer.
The incorrect diagnosis was only revealed to the woman on March 15, after hospital staff received a report confirming contamination issues a day earlier.
Dr. Wong Yiu-chung, the chief executive of the authority’s New Territories West Cluster, which encompasses Pok Oi Hospital, assured SCMP that a medical team would monitor the woman’s condition closely.
“We know and understand that the incident will affect the patient’s physical and mental condition greatly, so I want to take the opportunity to give the patient our most heartfelt apology and our deepest condolence,” he stated.
Dr. Wong stated that an investigation committee would be established to ascertain the cause of the blunder.