When you go in for an appendectomy you expect the organ to be removed, but Dr. Michael Kerin of Lawrence Hospital in Bronxville, N.Y., obviously ‘forgot’ to remove it during surgery. He and the hospital where the operation was performed are now facing a lawsuit.

William McCormack went into a medical center in the Adirondacks last month with severe stomach pains, prompting an emergency surgery to remove his appendix, as imagined, he was quite surprised to find that the organ had never been removed after a surgery for the appendectomy last year.

The 43-year-old is now suing Lawrence Hospital and Dr. Michael Kerin, for the non-removal of his appendix in January 2013, the Journal News reports.

While on vacation near Lake Placid in March, McCormack suffered severe pains that led to an emergency room visit, followed by an emergency surgery during which surgeons “discovered that his appendix was never removed and was still inside him,” according to his lawsuit.

Also included in the suit: a copy of the post-op report from Lawrence Hospital, which is signed by Dr. Kerin claiming that McCormack’s appendix had indeed been removed.

The details are not clear as to how the hospital failed to remove the body part, as a report from the pathology department states, “there is no evidence of appendix” in the specimen marked “appendix.” So what was removed from McCormack’s body? A “yellowish mass,” according to News 12.

McCormick’s attorney says documents show the hospital and the doctor, Michael Kerin, realized the mistake and carelessly ignored it. McCormack is asking to be compensated not just for the pain and suffering, but also for having to go under the knife twice.

Attorney Mitchell Baker says the hospital and surgeon may have been faced with more than medical malpractice had McCormack’s appendix not been removed in the second surgery, where the situation could have been much worse with a burst appendix leading to possible death.

Image via YouTube