A man from Ljubljana who had his testicles removed by mistake is seeking half a million euros in compensation

The district judge in Ljubljana ruled that the lawsuit of a man whose testicle was unnecessarily removed at a young age was founded, since the tumor on it was not malignant. The University Clinical Center in Ljubljana (UKC) should pay him compensation, the amount of which is not yet known, and the patient requested almost half a million euros.

“They made me disabled. I have to be on hormone therapy for the rest of my life. At the same time, it affects my mental health very badly. Men know very well what I’m talking about,” says today a 34-year-old man who had his testicle removed 11 years ago at the University Hospital Ljubljana.

The operation was performed because of a tumor on the testicle, which was benign and not malignant, but he did not know that. On the contrary, for years he believed that he was being treated for cancer.

Thus, he was left without the only functional testicle, because the other one was already poorly developed, and in October 2014, due to the fear of cancer spreading, the other one was removed as a preventive measure.

He did not know that the tumor was benign

The man decided to sue the Ljubljana clinical center because of the medical error that marked his life. He asked for 450,000 euros in compensation for mental and physical pain, as well as for the fear suffered.

District judge Ksenia Zelhofer Orehek, three and a half years after filing the lawsuit, decided with a temporary ruling that the lawsuit was founded, and the court will decide on the amount of damages with a final verdict.

The parties can still appeal the interim decision, and the clinical center insists they acted only for the benefit of the patient.

It all happened in July 2013 when the young man, right before the end of his studies, visited a doctor because of pain in the area of ​​the right testicle. In August, the urologist felt a lump that was assumed to be cancerous, and the diagnosis was life-threatening for him.

“The testicle will have to be removed because of the tumor,” the doctor was clear.

Because of the atrophic, dried left testicle, he first referred him to a gynecological clinic for sperm donation, so that one day he could still have a child, if he so decided. Seminal fluid for nine artificial inseminations was frozen, and its quality was rated as good.

At the urology conference at the Institute of Oncology, the young man was informed that the tumor was successfully removed in the first stage, and that he does not need chemotherapy or radiation. After the operation, the test showed that it was a harmless lump.

“I was so happy that the cancer had not progressed. “I had no doubt that it was a benign tumor,” the man explained during the trial.

For many years, he was afraid that the cancer would return, which is why he decided to remove his left testicle as a precaution. The surgeon and the oncologist had already told him that he had an epidermoid cyst, but as a layman he did not know what that meant.

There is no doubt about the damage caused

“The court found that the prosecutor was not adequately presented with all the possibilities for operative intervention. “Based on the credible testimony of the plaintiff and his partner, the court considers that the diagnosis was not explained in an adequate way for the patient to understand its content,” the provisional verdict states.

Therefore, the prosecutor did not decide to intervene on the basis of conscious, informed and free consent.

“He found out about the resulting damage only in October 2019. Until then, he thought he was suffering from malignant cancer, because no one explained the diagnosis to him”, the verdict states.

According to lawyer Olivera Gomboc, irreparable damage was caused to her client. For years he lived in fear that the cancer would return (even though he never had it). He and his partner did not decide on a child because they were afraid that he would grow up without a father. He cannot have a child naturally, and after the operations he suffered unnecessary physical pain.

There are also long-term consequences due to hormone therapy, which he will have to receive for the rest of his life, reports N1 Slovenia.