4-year-old boy given vasectomy during hernia surgery

Source: , Posted On:   14 June 2022

A surgeon in Houston gave a partial vasectomy to a 4-year-old boy who had gone in to get a hernia operation, according report.

The young patient from Fort Bend County, had been admitted to Texas Children’s Hospital in Aug. 2021 to undergo the laparoscopic surgery for the hernia, KDFW, Fox 4 said.

But somehow, in the course of the procedure, Dr. Susan Jarosz “cut the wrong piece of anatomy,” the family’s personal injury attorney, Randy Sorrels told local television.

“The surgeon, we think, cut accidentally the vas deferens — one of the tubes that carries reproductive semen in it. It could affect this young man for the rest of his life,” Sorrels told Fox 4.

A vasectomy can be reversed with another surgery to reconnect the vas deferens tubes.

Jarosz, who also serves as assistant professor of pediatric urology at Baylor College of Medicine, has no history of medical malpractice or formal complaints about her work.

During the course of the procedure, Dr. Susan Jarosz “cut the wrong piece of anatomy.”

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Sorrel, who is handling the family’s lawsuit, said medical errors like the one that occurred in the case of the young boy are rare because surgeons are supposed to ascertain they are cutting the right organ before putting their scalpel to work.

“Here, the doctor failed to accurately identify the anatomy that needed to be cut,” he argued. “Unfortunately, [she] cut his vas deferens. That wasn’t found out until it was sent in for pathology.”

The lawsuit seeking up to $1 million in damages alleges that Jarosz “breached the standard of care by failing to exercise ordinary care while performing hernia repair surgery on the little boy,” reported KPRC.

After the procedure, Sorrel said the surgeon told the parents what had happened and offered them an apology, but he said what they’re looking for is “accountability.”

The family’s lawyer said the boy’s parents are now concerned how the botched surgery would affect his physical ability to have children in the future, and also his emotional health.

When reached for a comment about the lawsuit Tuesday, Texas Children’s Hospital issued a brief statement to The Post.

“Texas Children’s Hospital’s top priority is the health and well-being of our patients,” it read. “Due to patient privacy requirements, we are unable to comment.”