"Amputation with Scissors, Hard to Believe...But a Complicated Situation" — Practicing Doctor Weighs In on Incheon Nursing Hospital Controversy

"At First, It Was Hard to Believe, but the Situation Was Complex"
Risk of Sepsis, Surgical Burden... Medical Staff's Dilemma Highlighted
"Legal Responsibility and Medical Realities Must Be Considered Together"

Amid ongoing controversy over the human leg recently discovered at a recycling facility in Incheon, which was confirmed to have been amputated at a local nursing hospital, a practicing physician has commented that "it appears the hospital and doctors did not neglect the patient and tried their best within the scope of what they could do," drawing attention.

The human legs found at the recycling facility in Incheon were confirmed to be parts of the body of an octogenarian inpatient who had undergone amputation at a nursing hospital in Incheon. Yonhap News Agency

Yang Sungkwan, head of the Department of Family Medicine at Uijeongbu Paik Hospital, wrote on his Facebook post on the 22nd, "When I first heard the news, it was hard to believe that a leg had been amputated not in an operating room, but in a hospital ward, and not with a scalpel but with scissors." He added, "Looking into the details of the case, the situation was much more complicated than I had thought."

Previously, on June 10, a part of a human left leg was found at a recycling facility in Yeonsu-gu, Incheon, prompting police to launch an investigation on suspicion of a possible violent crime. However, the investigation revealed that the amputated leg belonged to an 89-year-old female patient who had been hospitalized at a nursing hospital in Incheon.

The patient, reportedly suffering from declining heart function and severe leg necrosis, had been discharged from a general hospital after it was determined that surgery would be too risky. Her family, after searching for alternatives, admitted her to the nursing hospital in question. When the necrosis worsened, the hospital obtained the family's consent and amputated the affected area in the hospital ward. During the medical waste disposal process, the amputated limb was mistakenly categorized, resulting in it being taken outside the hospital.

Regarding this, Dr. Yang suggested that the medical staff may have been faced with a very challenging situation considering the patient's condition. He explained that typically, when necrosis is this advanced, amputation is performed at a general hospital or higher-level facility. However, in this case, it is likely that the patient's severely compromised heart function made general anesthesia itself too dangerous. He further wrote, "It's not easy to risk one's life for an amputation, especially when it's not even to save the leg."

Dr. Yang argued that not performing surgery was not a solution either. He wrote, "If left untreated, the condition of the leg would only worsen. It's not just the leg that gets worse—sepsis could threaten the patient's life."

He acknowledged that the treatment at the time was not textbook, but insisted, "The situation the medical staff faced was not a textbook scenario either." He further argued that this case requires not only a look at the legal responsibilities related to medical law and medical waste disposal but also a broader examination of the realities facing medical care for critically ill elderly patients.

He warned, "If this incident leads to the nursing hospital being effectively forced out of business through suspension of operations, no nursing hospital or doctor in the future will be willing to accept patients with necrotic legs." He added, "Even if they do admit such patients, they are more likely to avoid intervention rather than actively treat them, for fear of incurring similar risks."

He continued, "This incident involving leg amputation at the Incheon nursing hospital is not a story of perfect medical care. There are certainly legal and administrative issues to be addressed," but he emphasized, "At the very least, the medical staff tried to solve the problem rather than turning their backs on the patient."

He concluded, "While responsibility for the mishandling of medical waste should be addressed, I hope the case is resolved in a way that also recognizes the goodwill and efforts of the medical staff to care for the patient. That way, doctors in the future will not turn away from high-risk patients and will be able to do their best, even if it is not perfect."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.