Patient undergoes surgery after receiving wrong report

A patient in Zhejiang province had two-thirds of her stomach removed in error after she received another patient's pathology examination report by mistake, Qianjiang Evening News reported on Friday.

Chen from Leqing, a county-level city in Zhejiang, went to a local hospital on March 4 with stomach trouble. A few days later, the pathology examination report she received from the hospital suggested she had cancer and needed surgery as soon as possible.

Chen had the surgery, which removed two-thirds of her stomach, at another hospital on March 17, but was then informed by the previous hospital that she had received the wrong report and her problem was simply gastritis and did not need surgery.

Reports at hospital are usually distributed to patients by name. The patient whose report Chen received had the same name and gender, and also saw a doctor for stomach problems on the same day.

The two patients' ages differed, with one aged 73 and the other 65.

The hospital is planning to take the case to court for final disposal, because Chen and the hospital do not agree on suitable compensation.