A MAN who dreamt of having a little girl went in for a scheduled gallbladder op, only for bumbling docs to give him a vasectomy.
Jorge Base, a 41-year-old dad of three boys who dreamt of adding to his family, awoke angry and helpless from the bungled operation in Argentina.
Jam PressJorge Base, 41, went in for a gallbladder op, only for docs to give him a vasectomy[/caption]
His gallbladder procedure was supposed to take place on Tuesday February 27, but was rescheduled to the next day.
According to lawyer Diego Larrey, the medical gaffe that ended up steralising Jorge happened because the hospital tends to perform gallbladder operations on Tuesdays and vasectomies on Wednesdays.
Gallbladder removal surgery is usually carried out if you have painful gallstones in the small, pouch-like organ in the upper right part of your tummy.
Meanwhile, a vasectomy is an operation that cuts or seals the tubes that carry a man’s sperm to permanently prevent pregnancy.
Unlucky Jorge happened to be in the hospital for his gallbladder procedure on the day vasectomies were being performed and was shuttled into his procedure without being properly checked by staff.
Diego told local media: “He fell into the pile for vasectomies, and without asking him anything, they took him to the operating room.”
The lawyer went on: “They didn’t take his details, they took him to the operating table and operated on him.
“When he woke up, a doctor told him, ‘Oh, but you were supposed to have a gallbladder operation and they did a vasectomy on you.’
“And then he was subjected to another operation.”
When Jorge, 41, woke up “he was in a state of shock,” Diego said.
The lawyer said medical staff at the hospital in Córdoba, Argentina, tried to “calm him down.”
“They told him that through insemination he could still have children,” he said.
But, when it came to responsibility for the blunder, Diego claimed “they were blaming each other”.
The lawyer said neither hospital managers nor health officials had contacted Jorge to give him an explanation.
Jorge himself told local media: “A lot of questions are swirling in my head.
“You can’t understand how they could be so negligent.
“It’s a huge mistake.”
What is a vasectomy?
A vasectomy is a surgical procedure to cut or seal the tubes that carry a man’s sperm, which permanently prevents him impregnating someone.
It works by stopping sperm entering a man’s semen, which is the fluid he ejaculates.
The rubes that carry sperm from a man’s testicles to the penis are cut, blocked or sealed with heat.
This means that when a man ejaculates, the semen has no sperm in it and a woman’s egg can’t be fertilised.
It’s considered permanent, so once it’s done you don’t have to think about contraception again.
But doesn’t affect your sex drive or ability to enjoy sex, according to the NHS.
You’ll still have erections and ejaculate, but your semen won’t contain sperm.
Vasectomies tend to be quick relatively painless and you should be able t return home the same day.
In most parts of the UK, a vasectomy is available free of charge from the NHS. But waiting lists can be several months, depending on where you live.
If you no longer want to have children, speak to your GP or ask at your local contraception clinic for more information.
He said the medics had told him the chances of reversing the op were poor because of his age and because “the duct they have to operate on is very small”.
Jorge went on: “They told me that at the moment they operated on me, they weren’t performing gallbladder surgeries in the operating room but vasectomies.
“This was on Wednesday.
“It’s very strange because my file clearly stated gallbladder surgery everywhere.
“All they had to do was read it, it’s not rocket science.”
Jorge says no one’s taken responsibility for the debacle.
He said: “They focus on telling you, ‘Don’t worry, you can still have a child through insemination.’
The heartbroken dad added: “I have three grown-up boys… but I was dreaming of having a girl.”
Jam PressJorge woke up “in a state of shock” from the bungled procedure[/caption]