In a rare incident in France, a teenage girl who went to a hospital for ankle surgery discovered after the procedure that doctors had mistakenly removed all four of her wisdom teeth instead. The incident has now turned into a legal case, with her family filing a lawsuit against the hospital.
According to the French publication Europe 1, the girl, identified as Louise, is 17 years old and from the town of Auterre. She had been scheduled for surgery at the Saint-Martin Boulogne Hospital for a long-standing ankle problem, hoping to complete her treatment before the start of the new academic year.
Louise was scheduled to undergo ankle surgery on Friday, 19 Saratan (10 July). She entered the operating room expecting that the procedure would allow her to walk without difficulty and begin the new school year in better condition.
However, after the operation, when she regained consciousness in the recovery room, she noticed that her mouth was covered with sterile gauze. Further checks revealed that her ankle had not been operated on at all, and instead, doctors had mistakenly extracted all four of her wisdom teeth.
Louise’s mother said her daughter was left deeply shocked by the incident. She said that when she entered the recovery room and saw her daughter’s condition, she was unable to control her emotions. According to her, the surgeon apologized to the family several times, but she has since refused to meet with him.
The teenager’s mother said the medical error has had significant psychological effects on her daughter. She said Louise has suffered from anxiety since the incident, struggles to sleep at night, and may take a long time before she feels comfortable returning to a hospital for treatment. She added that she herself has experienced trembling, loss of appetite, and severe emotional distress, and that it remains difficult for the family to comprehend what happened.
Louise and her family have filed a complaint against Saint-Martin Boulogne Hospital. Her mother believes the consequences of the mistake could have been far more serious, as the anesthesia dosage was reportedly prepared based on another patient’s medical condition, which could have posed serious risks to her daughter’s health.
Hospital officials met with Louise’s family on the same day and explained that the surgical team had received the wrong medical file. According to them, another patient was scheduled to have all four wisdom teeth removed, and the medical team proceeded based on that patient’s records.
Despite these explanations, Louise’s family refused to sign documents presented to them regarding patient rights and compensation procedures, and decided to pursue the matter through legal channels.
The hospital management has also issued a statement acknowledging the “exceptional and deeply regrettable situation” and expressing regret over the medical error. However, the date for the court hearing to address the case has not yet been determined.
Writer:Salima Aryaei
