When New Mexico parents take their infants to the hospital for basic checkups, they expect doctors and health care staff to only perform procedures that are part of the normal checkup process. One Tennessee family, however, had their newborn mistaken for another infant, which resulted in an unneeded procedure being performed.
The child was reportedly born healthy, and the mother brought him in to the hospital shortly after delivery for a routine checkup. However, the mother subsequently found out that the doctor had erroneously given the infant a frenulectomy, which involves cutting the flap of skin that is attached to the underside of the tongue. Some infants are born with the flap too tight. However, this was not the case with this particular infant.
According to the report, the doctor who performed the procedure stated that he had asked for the wrong infant. He stated that he had admitted his mistake and had apologized. The unneeded surgery could potentially cause the infant to have speech complications, eating problems or other issues in the future. The hospital did not provide a comment on exactly what happened due to federal privacy regulations.
Infants who are mistakenly given unnecessary surgery could face complications that follow them for the rest of their lives, and they and their parents could be facing the need for extensive and expensive medical care and treatment. Parents who have unfortunately found themselves in such a situation may want to meet with a medical malpractice attorney to determine how best to seek compensation from the at-fault health care professional as well as the hospital itself.
