A woman in Japan was left unable to breathe on her own after a surgeon mistakenly removed healthy brain tissue instead of a tumour during an operation.
The incident happened at Kyoto University Hospital in late July and has since been classified by the hospital as a serious medical accident.
According to ABC News Japan, the patient is a woman in her 50s who underwent open brain surgery to remove a benign tumour.
Following the operation, she was unable to move her limbs or breathe independently and had to be placed on a ventilator.
Surgery was meant to remove a benign tumour
According to TV Asahi, the woman had previously been able to go about her daily life but had experienced symptoms including dizziness and unsteadiness.
脳手術で“正常部位”切除: “Normal/healthy tissue” removed during brain surgery
病院の説明を基に作成: Graphic created based on the hospital’s explanation
Brain labels
- 脳幹
Brainstem - 小脳橋角部
Cerebellopontine angle - 小脳扁桃
Cerebellar tonsil
Doctors found a benign tumour around 3cm in size deep inside her brain, in an area known as the cerebellopontine angle, which is located near the cerebellum and brainstem.
She decided to undergo surgery to prevent her symptoms from worsening.
Due to the nerves surrounding the area, the procedure was considered difficult and reportedly took around 10 hours.
Tests reportedly failed to confirm tumour tissue twice
The main surgeon was a male doctor in his 40s who had more than 20 years of experience in neurosurgery.
He had reportedly performed around 100 similar procedures before without making such an error.
During the operation, tissue that had been removed was tested twice to determine whether it was part of the tumour.
However, both tests reportedly failed to confirm that the tissue was tumour tissue.
Despite the results, the surgeon continued with the operation as he believed he was working around the tumour.
The hospital’s neurosurgery department later said it believed there had been an error in the surgeon’s judgement. When asked whether his experience could have contributed to overconfidence, the department head agreed that this may have been the case.
Patient did not regain normal breathing after surgery
It was only after the procedure that doctors realised something had gone seriously wrong.
The woman did not regain consciousness or begin breathing normally after the operation.
An MRI scan later revealed that tissue without a tumour had been removed, damaging parts of the brainstem responsible for functions including breathing and movement.
The original tumour that doctors had intended to remove was reportedly still inside her brain.
As of the hospital’s Aug. 7 announcement, the woman was unable to move her limbs or breathe independently and remained under ventilator care.
Her chances of recovery remained unclear.
Hospital launches investigation
Kyoto University Hospital has apologised over the incident and classified it as a serious medical accident.
The hospital has established an accident investigation committee to determine how the mistake occurred.
Video recordings of the surgery have also been preserved to help investigators examine what happened inside the operating room.
Following the incident, the hospital said it has strengthened procedures requiring multiple people to confirm the correct tissue during brain tumour removal surgeries.
At the time of writing, no newer public update on the woman’s condition has been announced.
