Florida Surgeon Under Scrutiny After Removing Patient’s Kidney, Believing It to Be Cancer

A Florida doctor is being accused of medical malpractice, after it was revealed that he removed a patient’s healthy kidney after mistaking it for a tumor.

TampaBay.com reports that the victim, Maureen Pacheco, sued her surgeon, Ramon Vazquez, for the 2016 procedure which was performed by Vasquez and two other surgeons.

Pacheco went to Wellington Regional Medical Center to have back surgery, but instead awakened to find the team had removed her kidney, believing it to be a cancerous tumor.  Pacheco was not consulted before the surgeons removed her kidney.

The Florida Department of Health has filed a complaint against Vasquez, but Vasquez continues to operate at local medical facilities.

Wellington Regional says that Vasquez is no longer on staff at the facility.