Hospital ‘deeply sorry’ after doctors castrate toddler in botched surgery

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A National Health Service foundation trust in Bristol, United Kingdom said it was “deeply sorry” following a botched operation that left a 2-year-old boy castrated.

“As soon as our staff members realized what had happened, they met with the family, told them what happened, and apologized again at that point,” a spokesperson for the University Hospitals Bristol which runs Bristol Royal Hospital for Children where the surgery happened, said in a statement, as reported by BBC on Friday, Dec. 21.

The spokesperson also stated that the University Hospitals Bristol has launched an investigation on the incident, promising they will keep the toddler’s family informed and involved in the process.

During a checkup, the toddler (identity withheld) was found to have an undescended testicle, a condition wherein a boy’s testicle failed to lower or descend in the scrotum. One of his testicles was not functioning while the other one was healthy.

In a bid to treat his condition, the toddler was admitted to Bristol Royal Hospital for Children for what the doctors described as “just a minimal operation” with “minimal risk” on Dec. 17, the report stated. The boy’s parents were told the surgery will only last for about 30 minutes.

However, they were left to wait for more than the time allotted for the operation.

“After two and a half hours, the manager, surgeons and consultants they came and I knew something was not right,” the boy’s father, whose identity was also withheld, said in the report. “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 couple was devastated after learning the doctors operated on the wrong testicle. They were told a surgeon inserted a camera by mistake “into the wrong side” which meant their son’s healthy testicle would “never work.”

“I was very distressed, it was an awful disaster for a simple operation they destroyed everything and they ruined my son,” the boy’s father stated, as per report. “They castrated him and now my son’s future life has dramatically changed.”

The hospital claims that “a serious incident investigation has been launched,” and assures that the family will be involved in the process. Kate Matriano/JB

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