Cancer patient demands answers after surgery error

Ian Tollemache is looking for answers after a surgery mistake left him in a difficult situation. Nearly five years ago, a surgeon removed the wrong part of his lung. The Health and Disability Commissioner reported that the surgeon violated three codes, including issues around informed consent. An internal review by Health NZ looked into the incident but found no wider problems in their systems. They are working on making improvements. In the original surgery in 2020, Ian's cancerous tumor was not removed correctly. Eight days later, he needed corrective surgery that took out his entire left lung. Sadly, this led to cancer developing in his remaining lung, making it inoperable. Ian continues to seek clarity on how this mistake could have happened and what steps are in place to prevent it from happening again.