Surgeon Operates on Wrong Side of Woman's Brain in Fenton

A neurosurgeon based at SSM St. Clare Health Center in Fenton has his employer apologizing for operating on the wrong side of a St. Ann woman's brain and skull during brain surgery on April 4.

That's according to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, which also reported that the woman being operated on will likely suffer from emotional distress, anxiety, disfigurement and depression. 

The woman is now filing a medical malpractice lawsuit against SSM Health Care, the St. Louis Business Journal reports.

According to one medical website, Bill Hoefer, president of St. Clare Health Center, said the hospital is "committed to patient safety and the highest quality health care. If a medical error does occur, we take it very seriously. We investigate thoroughly to see what processes can be changed to prevent it from ever happening again, and then we make those changes immediately."

According to the Post-Dispatch, Armond Levy—the surgeon—received a medical degree from Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis at SSM St. Clare Health Center in Fenton, he also has staff privileges at St. Mary’s Health Center in Richmond Heights and DePaul Health Center in Bridgeton.