Annals of Medical Malpractice

Are there no prisons? Shouldn't Dr. Duh here be required to hand his spleen over to his victim?

A Santa Ana urologist who mistakenly removed a patient’s spleen instead of a kidney can no longer perform surgeries on his own, according to California Medical Board documents.

An administrative law judge last week decided that Dr. Huey Chou Lin cannot practice medicine or perform surgery without supervision. He is also barred from performing nephrectomies, the surgical removal of one or both kidneys.

The restrictions are temporary, pending a full hearing on Lin’s fitness to practice medicine.

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According to the legal documents, in 2015 Lin erroneously removed a patient’s spleen instead of the left kidney at Fountain Valley Regional. Afterward, the hospital revoked his nephrectomy privileges and required him to work with a co-surgeon, the legal documents say.

The documents do not describe the condition of the patient or how the error was discovered.

In making the decision to restrict his practice, Judge Julie Cabos-Owen wrote that Lin is “unable to independently practice medicine safely at this time.” She noted that the restrictions were necessary to protect patients at the other hospitals where he practices with full privileges.