Man mistakenly gets jaw removed instead of his wisdom tooth, cyst

A man who was supposed to have his wisdom tooth and cyst taken out accidentally had his jaw removed after a hospital mistook him for a patient with a deadly tumor.

Daily Mail reported that the 35-year-old went to Umberto I Dental Clinic in Rome for a wisdom tooth and cyst extraction.

After undergoing a biopsy on the cyst, the man was told that it was "malignant" so his jaw needed to be removed via surgery. 

He was left with permanent facial damage, particularly on the right side of his mouth, after the operation.

A month later, he was shocked after knowing that his follow-up tests on the tumor showed negative results. He was told he didn't need to undergo chemotheraphy anymore.

He sought a second opinion and had the same biological material checked by a different laboratory at the Catholic University of Rome, which found that he didn't have a deadly tumor and that he didn't need surgery in the first place.

Per the Daily Mail report, he later learned that the staff at Umberto I Dental Clinic mixed up the results with that of a patient who had a malignant tumor located in his jaw.

"Even now, I cannot describe my state of mind. I am alive, I am healthy, I do not have any fatal disease, but I have suffered a great deal," he told local news outlet Corriere della Serra.

The man decided to take legal action against the hospital and sue them for damages.

An investigation on the medical mix-up is still ongoing.