Surgeon removes wrong organ from 84-year-old patient—now she has stage 5 kidney disease
Industry Buzz
"Working at academic places I've seen some more complex surgeries have the easy way taken by non-tertiary centers (eg, removal of a limb) because they don't have the capability of doing the more complex surgery (eg, a complex vascular repair or wound care/skin grafting with plastic surgery). Could this also be a case where the surgeon was in over his head or a better outcome might happen elsewhere and they didn't tell her that?" — Nurse on Reddit @2greenlimes
Wendy Rappaport, a patient from Minneapolis–Saint Paul, had her left kidney removed during a March 2022 operation gone wrong at Allina Health—despite the kidney being perfectly healthy.[] So what happened? The surgeon, Devon Callahan, MD, removed the wrong organ, according to the May 2025 lawsuit.[]
Rappaport, who is in her 80s, went to Abbott Northwestern Hospital—run by the nonprofit healthcare system Allina Health—to have her spleen removed through open laparotomy, but left with an intact spleen and a missing kidney instead.[][] The lawsuit states that the surgeon recommended the spleen removal and even reviewed the risks of the spleen removal procedure with her.[]
Before her surgery, her kidneys showed “no suspicious masses, stones, or hydronephrosis,” according to the lawsuit. In the post-operative notes, the surgeon wrote that he removed Rappaport’s spleen; however, post-surgical imaging revealed that he had actually removed the left kidney.
Rappaport was required to stay in the hospital until May 25, 2022 due to complications. The lawsuit alleges she had “splenic abscess, left nephrectomy (left kidney removal), respiratory failure, left pleural effusion, and diastolic heart failure.”[] She was also diagnosed with stage 5 kidney disease as a result of the incident, and must now receive regular dialysis.
Rappaport accused the surgeon and Allina of medical malpractice and battery, as well as breaching the duty of care and causing permanent, irreversible injury. Rappaport is seeking "at least" $50,000.
Allina Health claims the lawsuit doesn’t “accurately reflect the full picture,” and intends to fight the lawsuit in court. “We intend to vigorously defend, in court, the care that was provided," the healthcare system said in a statement.
Docs react
On the r/medicine subreddit, docs and other healthcare workers commented on the unique case, with many noting the case may be more complicated upon closer look. Physician @victorkiloalpha wrote, "This looks like a more complicated case—apparently the indication was a splenorenal abscess and the surgeon and op report indicates the kidney was removed. It sounds like they just didn't have the patient consented for it properly?"
In regards to whether or not the surgeon was at fault for the diagnosis of stage 5 kidney disease, user @lheritier1789 (MD, hospitalist) wrote, "Apparently she was in her 80s and was admitted with a splenic abscess so I feel like the odds she had normal well-functioning kidneys would have been low."
And user @99landlorproblems, a physician, commented, "Smells like a family money grab without more details. Doubt it pays in the seven figures if at all. Getting a frail, mid 80s patient through septic shock and ruptured intra-abdominal abscess with just temporary dialysis to complain about would be a success in most parts of the world."
Was the surgeon in a hurry?
Gerda Maissel, MD, BCPA, a private patient advocate and board-certified physician with experience overseeing physician quality reviews, spoke with MDLinx about the case, saying, “The left kidney and spleen are physically adjacent to each other. The two organs are shaped differently, and surgeons and their teams need to be careful to ensure they have identified the correct organs. Sometimes, diseased organs have variations in size, shape, or positioning.”
Surgeons have come a long way in the operating room, Dr. Maissel says, but safety practices still need to be adhered to. “In the past, the removal of the wrong body part was a relatively common problem,” she says. “But over the last 20 to 30 years, operating room procedures have undergone significant changes to greatly reduce these types of mistakes.”
Dr. Maissel says the implementation of standardized processes and checklists are key, including confirmation that the correct body part is being operated on and that the whole surgical team understands the plan. “The culture in the operating room now encourages anyone in the room to speak up if something might be going wrong,” Dr. Maissel says.
But there’s another way to prevent mistakes: “Avoid the temptation to go too fast or treat any case as routine,” she stresses.
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