Portrait of an unknown doctor holding a stethoscope behind(Photo: Getty Images / iStockphoto)

A surgeon from Sioux Falls denies having breached the standard of care when he removed the healthy kidney of a woman who should have been rid of an adrenal gland.

In their response to a lawsuit brought by Dena Knapp, Dr. Scott Baker and the Surgical Institute of South Dakota admitted that Knapp was supposed to have an adrenal gland and an associated mass on the gland during a surgery on October 5, 2016. However, Baker removed Knapp's right kidney and did not remove the adrenal gland and mass, depending on the response.

Last month, Knapp of Milford, Iowa, filed a lawsuit in a federal court in South Dakota, alleging professional negligence.

More: A woman claims that the kidney was removed by mistake during a failed surgery

In his lawsuit, Knapp alleged that Baker was informed on the day of the operation by the pathology department of Avera McKennan Hospital that he had removed healthy kidney tissue and not the adrenal gland. Knapp says she did not say that the adrenal gland had not been removed before she left the hospital. Baker's answer denies this claim, stating that Knapp received the information the day she was operated on.

In the end, she chose to have the gland removed at the Mayo Institute in Rochester, Minnesota.

In their response, Baker and the South Dakota Surgical Institute, where Baker practiced at the time of the operation, say that Knapp's medical records indicate that the adrenal gland was close to the large lobe of his liver and that the adrenal gland right. "

They deny breaking standards of care by removing the kidney in good health, not removing the adrenal gland, and failing to make a mistake. They also deny having suffered damage.

After the surgery, Knapp developed stage three kidney disease.

"The defendants," said the answer, "deny the nature, scope, and extent of the injuries, losses, and damages claimed by the plaintiff."

TO CLOSE

The story of the American courthouse in Sioux Falls, South Dakota
Wochit

Read or share this story: https://www.argusleader.com/story/news/2018/09/19/surgeon-medical-practice-deny-negligence-removing-healthy-kidney/1351533002/