Doctors mistake woman’s ovary for her appendix

A Swedish woman was supposed to have her appendix removed, but when the operation was completed she discovered surgeons had instead removed one of her ovaries and a Fallopian tube.

Published: 7 October 2008 07:28 CEST

It was back in October 2007 when the woman from Ångermanland in northern Sweden suffered from the medical mishap.

The incident is now being reported by the county hospital in Sundsvall-Härnösand to the National Board of Health and Welfare (Socialstyrelsen), as stipulated by Sweden’s Lex Maria rules governing medical accidents.

The Västernorrland County Council, which manages the hospital, said in a statement that the operation’s complexity may have contributed to the mistake.