Dr. Alan Freedman performed surgery on Steven Charbonneau. During the surgery, a towel was left in Charbonneau’s abdomen. The towel compressed Charbonneau’s ureter, preventing urine from flowing normally from the kidney to the bladder. Freedman obtained consent to perform exploratory surgery to determine the cause of the obstruction. He discovered the towel, and discovered that the damage to the ureter could not be repaired. Freedman removed Charbonneau’s kidney.
Following the surgery, Freedman told Charbonneau and his family about removing the kidney, but not about the surgical towel. Only the following day, after discussing the matter with the hospital’s risk manager did Freedman tell Charbonneau about the towel.
