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Dr Gérald Kierzek (Medical Director of Doctissimo)
Three years ago, Paul, in his sixties, had emergency surgery for lung cancer. But in reality, the man is not sick: an error was made by the medical analysis laboratory, which reversed two samples. What are the existing controls? How could such an error occur? The answers of Dr Gérald Kierzek, emergency doctor and medical director of Doctissimo.
It was a mistake that cost him dearly. Paul has lived for three years with only one lung. Diagnosed with a cancer that he did not have, he underwent a lung ablation and has suffered from it on a daily basis since, as he explains to our colleagues at RTL: “It is very debilitating and above all there is a side psychological which is heavy. A part of yourself is taken away from you”. Constantly out of breath, the sexagenarian considers to have been “mutilated”, without any real medical reason.
A lab error
According to Paul, it is the medical analysis laboratory which is at the origin of his condition. After his operation, the laboratory staff realized their mistake: two samples were mixed up. In reality, therefore, Paul did not have cancer.
Since this announcement, he has filed a complaint but has no follow-up, for the moment. “I find that today it is unfair not to worry people who gave a result that was not mine.” he laments. He has hired the services of a lawyer to represent him, but for the time being, the doctors of the laboratory “do not incur any liability“.
“No operation from a single examination”
In the medical field, various checks are carried out in order to avoid this type of error. “I don’t know what exactly happened with this man, but generally speaking, you never operate on a patient based on the result of a single examination. You always collect different results, especially before to decide on surgery” First of all, says Dr Gérald Kierzek, emergency doctor and medical director of Doctissimo.
What are the verification procedures in medicine?
“We can compare them to those in the field of aviation, for pilots: the patient’s identity is checked before, during and after an operation, for example. The nurses are responsible for asking you several times for your identity, the side concerned, you wear a bracelet in your name… During the operation, the surgeon may request an extemporaneous analysis of the tissues… All these elements are there to limit the risks“recalls Dr. Kierzek.
“It’s the same thing in the laboratory: the patient is called to the waiting room, their identity is checked again before performing the procedure, labels are stuck on the collection tubes… But there is a human factor and an error can always happen” adds the doctor. “We must then carry out a morbidity and mortality review, in order to determine the cause of the failure and make sure to remedy it so that it does not happen again”.