A man from Bury St Edmunds in Suffolk has been left infertile after doctors removed tissue from the wrong testicle.

The Press Association reports that surgeons at West Suffolk Hospital in Bury St Edmunds were supposed to remove the man's right epididymis – a coiled tube which carries sperm away from the testicles – but instead they removed the left one.

In January 2009, the patient had to undergo a second procedure to remove the correct epididymis, which left him infertile.

The interim chief operating officer at the hospital, Nigel Kee, said:

‘The safety of our patients is our number one priority – as such, we take any incidents which compromise safety extremely seriously.

‘A thorough investigation into this case was carried out by an independent consultant, who advised us to introduce an additional hospital-wide policy giving clearer instructions on marking and verifying sites prior to surgery. We implemented this recommendation immediately.’

The health trust has declined to say whether the man has received any compensation over the surgical blunder.

Mr Kee added:

‘We have an overriding duty to protect the confidentiality of our patients – as such, we will not comment in any further detail on this case.’

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