Doctor at Mexican public hospital accused of amputating wrong foot

TUXTLA GUTIERREZ, Mexico (AP) - A doctor at a public hospital in southern Mexico mistakenly amputated the right leg of an elderly patient who had sought treatment for an infection in his left foot, the patient’s family announced Sunday.

Seeking treatment for a foot wound aggravated by diabetes, Alberto Lopez, 74, was admitted to a Social Security Institute hospital in Tuxtla Gutierrez, about 700 kilometres south of Mexico City, and underwent surgery Friday. But the patient emerged from surgery without a right leg - and still suffering from the original infection - according to family members who filed a complaint Sunday with the state attorney general’s office and a national medical arbitration commission.

As of Sunday, Lopez had not yet been notified that the wrong limb was amputated unnecessarily, according to his daughter, Esperanza Lopez.

“He could die on us just from the impact,” she said. “What we are demanding of the authorities is that the person responsible be punished.”

Hospital director Jesus Siman acknowledged that a mistake was made and said the responsible doctor had been removed from the hospital while authorities investigate the incident. The doctor under investigation could not be reached for comment.