Hong Kong - A Hong Kong hospital admitted Saturday that it
gave radiotherapy to the wrong patient for two months after mixing up
two biopsy results.
Tung Wah Hospital said the biopsy examinations were confused after
two men aged 72 and 69 years-old underwent tests for prostate cancer
in January last year.
The mix-up lead to the 72-year-old receiving radiology treatment
for a non-existent cancer for two months while the 69-year-old, who
had the cancer, received no treatment for 10 months.
The second man was eventually diagnosed with cancer in October
last year after another biopsy.
But the blunder was not discovered until last week when a
urologist treating the 69-year-old reviewed his medical records.
The hospital said it had apologised to the families of the men who
are both in stable condition and an investigation was now underway.
However, Dr Choi Kin, president of the Medical Association, told
the South China Morning Post that radiotherapy could be very damaging
and irreversible and described the mistake as 'relatively serious.'
'Radiotherapy can be very damaging to the internal organs and lead
to burning of the skin,' Dr Choi said.
Dr York Chow, secretary for food and health, expressed grave
concern and instructed the Hospital Authority to set up a panel to
investigate the incident and suggest measures to avoid similar mix-
ups in the future.
Your Talkback on this Story