French surgeons remove healthy kidney from cancer patient, leaving 77-year-old with diseased organ

French surgeons wrongly removed a healthy kidney from a cancer patient, leaving a 77-year-old man with just one kidney that is diseased. Radio France reported that in July this year, the patient underwent an oncology procedure at Henri Mondor Hospital in Créteil, near Paris. When he woke from anesthesia, he learned doctors had operated on the wrong side.

Despite the patient correctly filling in the standard preoperative checklist, the nephrectomy proceeded on the incorrect side, according to Radio France. The five-year survival rate for a complete nephrectomy in kidney cancer can exceed 90 percent, but the unnamed man’s prognosis is now worse because he must rely on a single, diseased kidney. While his life is not immediately at risk, doctors say the consequences of the error will be felt long term. His family has begun legal action against Assistance Publique-Hôpitaux de Paris (AP-HP), the public hospital network that runs the Parisian institution. AP-HP declined to comment when asked by reporters, citing medical confidentiality.

News of the case adds to ongoing concerns about surgical safety in complex cancer procedures. The hospital network and national health authorities have emphasized double checks and side marking as essential to prevent misidentification before any incision. Earlier this year, media reports described another incident in the United States in which a patient underwent kidney removal by mistake; an elderly woman required dialysis after the healthy kidney was removed instead of the spleen. Such errors highlight the risks inherent in surgical procedures near organs with close proximity and similar anatomy.

In the United Kingdom, about 13,000 new kidney cancer cases are diagnosed each year, with roughly 4,709 deaths. Public health groups underscore warning signs such as blood in urine, persistent pain between the ribs and waist, loss of appetite or unintended weight loss, and a lump or swelling in the back or near the kidneys. Early detection offers the best chance at survival. Risk factors include smoking, obesity, exposure to radiation or chemicals, chronic kidney disease, kidney stones, and genetics.

Health authorities say patient safety measures continue to evolve, including independent verification and stricter preoperative checks. The France case is under formal review, and AP-HP has said it will respond to inquiries as appropriate while maintaining patient confidentiality.