US-Based Indian-Origin Urologist Fined for Surgical Error

An Indian-origin urologist in Florida, USA, has been fined $7,236 and required to complete a risk management medical education course after mistakenly removing a cyst instead of a kidney during surgery in 2021. Dr. Zamip Patel, who was supposed to remove a patient’s right kidney, ended up removing a “hemorrhagic and inflamed cyst” instead.

The patient, unaware of the error, later sought medical attention due to pain and was found to still have the kidney. Patel’s punitive measures also include taking a continuing medical education course in risk management and giving a one-hour speech on wrong-site surgeries. Patel, board-certified since 2013, holds a Florida medical license since 2011 and this marks his first disciplinary action.