The joy of the birth of their new baby boy was instantly turned into a nightmare for two parents when they were told he was mistakenly performed surgery on.
The Tennessee couple thought their perfectly healthy son, Nate, was going in for a routine check. A couple of hours later when nurses returned Nate, the parents found out that an operation that was supposed to be performed on another newborn was somehow switched with their son.
The doctor carried on with the procedure without seeking signed consent from the parents.
The operation was called a frenulectomy, where a small part of skin under the tongue is cut. This is usually done when the tongue is restricted in movement and the child has trouble nursing.
Speaking with NewsChannel5, the mother, Jennifer Melton, said: “Essentially, they took our child who was healthy from the room and cut his mouth. At that point, I began to cry hysterically.”
No excuses were given for the doctor who made the horrible mistake. In a report from the hospital, he wrote: “I had asked for the wrong infant … and I admitted my mistake and apologised.”
“There is no excuse for cutting a healthy child,” said Melton’s attorney Clint Kelly. “It’s recklessness.”
At this stage, it’s unknown whether little the little tot will have any speech problems or issues with eating.
VIDEO: Mother speaks out about doctor performing wrong surgery on her son
