Allina Health Abbot Northwestern Hospital in Minneapolis, Minnesota (Google Maps)
A Minnesota hospital said a patient’s lawsuit did not “accurately reflect the full picture” of what occurred when a surgeon removed her kidney instead of her spleen as planned in 2022.
In a lawsuit filed on May 7 in Hennepin County civil court, Wendy Rappaport said surgeon Devon Callahan and Allina Health System are liable for malpractice and battery due to a botched surgery three years earlier.
Rappaport said that she was admitted to Abbott Northwestern Hospital on March 24, 2022, for treatment of a spleen abscess. The next day, said Rappaport, she underwent a CT scan of the abdomen and pelvis that revealed a “well-perfused” spleen, indicating that her spleen had been receiving an adequate blood supply.
Rappaport was scheduled for spleen removal surgery on March 28, 2022, and in advance of the procedure, she reviewed the risks of the surgery with a physician and with her daughter. Immediately prior to the surgery, Rappaport again reviewed the risks of the procedure — this time with Callahan, the surgeon. The surgery was performed as an open laparotomy — but instead of removing Rappaport’s spleen as planned, the surgery resulted in the removal of her left kidney.
On the same day Rappaport had the surgery, a follow-up postsurgical CT scan was performed on her abdomen. This imaging showed that her left kidney had been removed and that her spleen — which was now infected — was still present. According to the filing, however, Callahan’s surgical notes indicated that he removed the patient’s spleen and that her kidneys had been “unremarkable.”
An affidavit of another physician, Samuel Isaac, attached to the complaint indicated that “an intact spleen [was] removed” from Rappaport. The affidavit further detailed that following the surgery, Callahan had a “detailed discussion” with Rappaport’s daughters during which he “explained that the kidney removal was unintentional,” and “apologized for this error to the daughters and discussed many other questions.”
Rappaport remained hospitalized for nearly two months until May 25, 2022, due to complications and has been diagnosed with Stage 5 kidney disease as a direct result of the unwanted removal of her kidney, per the complaint. Rappaport said that she now requires specialized medical treatment including dialysis as a result of the doctor’s mistake.
In his affidavit, Isaac attested that it is his professional opinion to a reasonable degree of medical certainty that Callahan deviated from the standard of care owed to Rappaport, and that removing a kidney during a splenectomy would not normally occur unless a doctor had been negligent. Further, Isaac called the kidney removal a “Never Event” that constitutes medical negligence that directly caused Rappaport’s injuries and complications.
Rappaport’s complaint raised claims against Callahan and Allina Health System for medical malpractice and medical battery and seeks unspecified damages in excess of $50,000.
In an emailed statement to Law&Crime Tuesday, Allina Health vowed to fight Rappaport’s lawsuit in court, claiming that the complaint does not provide the full story.
“Allina Health is aware of the lawsuit and has had the case reviewed by medical experts,” the statement said. “While we will not discuss details of a patient’s care due to privacy laws, the court filings don’t accurately reflect the full picture of the patient’s condition or the life-saving medical care provided. We intend to vigorously defend, in court, the care that was provided.”
In a statement emailed to Law&Crime, Aaron Lawrence, a lawyer for Rappaport, called his client’s injuries “a result of the negligent and unnecessary removal of her left kidney.”
“The Defendants were supposed to remove a ‘sick’ spleen but removed the incorrect organ,” Lawrence also said. “As a result, Ms. Rappaport suffered not only the loss of her left kidney but she also suffers from permanent kidney impairment, and she requires specific medical treatment to maintain her ongoing kidney function. This was not the case for Ms. Rappaport prior to the unnecessary kidney removal.”
The lawsuit seeks “fair compensation for her injuries and the future damages she will incur due to the Defendant’s medical malpractice and medical battery,” Lawrence added. “The removal of the incorrect organ has and will continue to have a profound and unnecessary impact on her life and health.”
You can read the full complaint here.
