A shocking mistake in the OR left her with lifelong consequences
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It was supposed to be a standard procedure. A common surgery, performed thousands of times a year.
But what happened inside the operating room that day left one woman facing permanent health consequences—and asking how something so routine went so terribly off course.
We’ve heard our share of hospital horror stories.
But few are as devastating—or as preventable—as this one.
Wendy Rappaport, 84, went into a Minnesota hospital in 2022 for a routine surgery to remove her spleen.
The organ had developed a ruptured abscess, and without surgical removal, she risked a dangerous infection.
The procedure, known as a splenectomy, is considered common and relatively low-risk. But during the operation, surgeons didn’t remove her spleen at all—they removed her left kidney by mistake.
Doctors didn’t realize their error until after the surgery, when a CT scan revealed the kidney was gone, and the spleen—still infected—was left behind.
What was supposed to be a short recovery turned into a long-term medical nightmare.
Rappaport was diagnosed with stage 5 kidney disease—the most severe form—just days after the surgery.
Her remaining kidney could no longer handle the job of filtering toxins from her blood. She was hospitalized for two months and placed on dialysis.
Dialysis treatments now occupy much of her life. Three times a week, for four hours each session, she must be connected to a machine that performs the job her kidneys no longer can.
Wendy Rappaport is now suing the hospital, Abbott Northwestern, and the surgeon who performed the operation, Dr. Devon Callahan.
According to the lawsuit, there were no signs of kidney problems before the surgery. In fact, records show her kidney function was healthy.
Her creatinine levels—a key measure of kidney performance—were normal before the procedure but spiked dramatically after the mistaken organ removal.
The scan that finally revealed the error showed not only a missing kidney but also residual spleen tissue still inside her.
Also read: An eye for a…tooth? This man’s bizarre surgery seems like something out of the movies.
Despite this, Dr. Callahan’s post-surgery notes claimed the spleen had been removed “intact.”
A surgeon who reviewed the case, Dr. Isaac Samuel from the University of Iowa, called the mistake a clear case of negligence.
He said the removal of the wrong organ deviated from standard medical practices and directly caused Rappaport’s health to spiral.
He also pointed out that the surgery left her with worsening kidney function and growing medical bills.
The lawsuit is seeking $50,000 in damages—a modest sum given the lifelong treatment now required.
Spleen removal is performed roughly 22,000 times a year in the US. The spleen, while useful, is not essential—other organs can typically pick up its immune and blood-filtering roles after removal.
But kidneys are a different story.Losing one kidney puts enormous strain on the remaining one. It increases the risk of high blood pressure, toxin buildup, and kidney disease.
Over time, the damage can lead to further decline in overall health and quality of life.
Allina Health, which owns the hospital, has disputed the narrative laid out in the lawsuit.
They issued a statement saying the court filings “don’t accurately reflect the full picture of the patient’s condition or the life-saving medical care provided.”
They plan to “strongly defend” their team’s actions in court.
Still, medical experts and the evidence in the case suggest otherwise. The mistake was only discovered after the surgery, and Rappaport was already suffering from the consequences.
Whether or not the court awards damages, one thing is clear: Wendy Rappaport’s life will never return to what it was before that surgery. Her future now includes constant treatments, a higher risk of organ failure, and long-term dependency on dialysis.
She may have walked into the hospital expecting to feel better—but she walked out needing lifelong care.
Read next: “My husband would love me no matter what.” Plastic surgery gone wrong: 67-year-old woman left unable move a part of her face
Do you believe patients deserve more transparency and accountability in medical care? Has your trust in hospitals changed because of a personal experience? Let us know in the comments below. Your voice can help others in our GrayVine community stay informed.
But what happened inside the operating room that day left one woman facing permanent health consequences—and asking how something so routine went so terribly off course.
We’ve heard our share of hospital horror stories.
But few are as devastating—or as preventable—as this one.
Wendy Rappaport, 84, went into a Minnesota hospital in 2022 for a routine surgery to remove her spleen.
The organ had developed a ruptured abscess, and without surgical removal, she risked a dangerous infection.
The procedure, known as a splenectomy, is considered common and relatively low-risk. But during the operation, surgeons didn’t remove her spleen at all—they removed her left kidney by mistake.
Doctors didn’t realize their error until after the surgery, when a CT scan revealed the kidney was gone, and the spleen—still infected—was left behind.
What was supposed to be a short recovery turned into a long-term medical nightmare.
Rappaport was diagnosed with stage 5 kidney disease—the most severe form—just days after the surgery.
Her remaining kidney could no longer handle the job of filtering toxins from her blood. She was hospitalized for two months and placed on dialysis.
Dialysis treatments now occupy much of her life. Three times a week, for four hours each session, she must be connected to a machine that performs the job her kidneys no longer can.
Wendy Rappaport is now suing the hospital, Abbott Northwestern, and the surgeon who performed the operation, Dr. Devon Callahan.
According to the lawsuit, there were no signs of kidney problems before the surgery. In fact, records show her kidney function was healthy.
Her creatinine levels—a key measure of kidney performance—were normal before the procedure but spiked dramatically after the mistaken organ removal.
The scan that finally revealed the error showed not only a missing kidney but also residual spleen tissue still inside her.
Also read: An eye for a…tooth? This man’s bizarre surgery seems like something out of the movies.
Despite this, Dr. Callahan’s post-surgery notes claimed the spleen had been removed “intact.”
A surgeon who reviewed the case, Dr. Isaac Samuel from the University of Iowa, called the mistake a clear case of negligence.
He said the removal of the wrong organ deviated from standard medical practices and directly caused Rappaport’s health to spiral.
He also pointed out that the surgery left her with worsening kidney function and growing medical bills.
The lawsuit is seeking $50,000 in damages—a modest sum given the lifelong treatment now required.
Spleen removal is performed roughly 22,000 times a year in the US. The spleen, while useful, is not essential—other organs can typically pick up its immune and blood-filtering roles after removal.
But kidneys are a different story.Losing one kidney puts enormous strain on the remaining one. It increases the risk of high blood pressure, toxin buildup, and kidney disease.
Over time, the damage can lead to further decline in overall health and quality of life.
Allina Health, which owns the hospital, has disputed the narrative laid out in the lawsuit.
They issued a statement saying the court filings “don’t accurately reflect the full picture of the patient’s condition or the life-saving medical care provided.”
They plan to “strongly defend” their team’s actions in court.
Still, medical experts and the evidence in the case suggest otherwise. The mistake was only discovered after the surgery, and Rappaport was already suffering from the consequences.
Whether or not the court awards damages, one thing is clear: Wendy Rappaport’s life will never return to what it was before that surgery. Her future now includes constant treatments, a higher risk of organ failure, and long-term dependency on dialysis.
She may have walked into the hospital expecting to feel better—but she walked out needing lifelong care.
Read next: “My husband would love me no matter what.” Plastic surgery gone wrong: 67-year-old woman left unable move a part of her face
Do you believe patients deserve more transparency and accountability in medical care? Has your trust in hospitals changed because of a personal experience? Let us know in the comments below. Your voice can help others in our GrayVine community stay informed.
