In a case of possible medical malpractice a surgeon operated on the wrong eye of a 4-year-old boy who was supposed to undergo corrective surgery. The parents and young boy will have to wait at least five weeks before the effects of the incorrect procedure are known. The mother of the 4-year-old says hospital staff were not immediately truthful about the incident and believe no child or parent should have to experience what they did.

Last week the 4-year-old boy was slated to have corrective surgery performed on his right eye. The young boy has a wandering right eye and the procedure was intended to weaken the muscle at the bottom of the eye. After completing the initial procedure the doctor who performed the surgery realized she had operated on the boy's left eye, the wrong eye. According to the boy's mother the medical staff were not initially forthcoming about the initial procedure.

Near the end of the morning the mother of the 4-year-old expected to see her son in the recovery room. Instead, a nurse came out and informed the mother the medical team needed to operate on both of the boy's eyes. Without taking the family's questions, the nurse returned to the operation room. After the conclusion of the second surgery, the doctor who performed the surgery provided an explanation of what had occurred heavy with medical terms that left the family of the boy confused.

The doctor made a second attempt at the explanation and said she misidentified the eye to receive surgery when a nurse mistakenly covered an indicative mark during surgery prep. Now the young boy's left eye seems to be wandering and the right eye that needed surgery remains the same according to the mother. The family will have to wait five weeks for the eyes to completely heal and then permanent damage can be measured.

Source: ABC News, "Medical mistake: Surgeon operates on the wrong eye of a 4-year-old boy," Michael Murray, 4/19/11