Tennessee Doctor Clipped Newborn's Tongue Without Parents' Consent

Mothers choose to deliver their babies in hospitals in hopes of getting the ultimate care. However, in a Tennessee hospital, the parents' of a newborn were aghast when they found out that a surgical procedure was done on their healthy baby without their consent.

A doctor from the University Medical Center in Lebanon, Tennessee, mistakenly performed frenectomy, a procedure that clips the tongue to allow better movement, on  an otherwise normal and healthy baby. Jennifer Melton, the mother of the baby, told CBS, "The baby was perfect, healthy and beautiful." Nate was delivered perfectly without any health issues.

According to the mom, after Nate was born, he was taken for what she thought was a normal hospital procedure. He was then brought back hours after. That was the time when the nurse told them about the surgical procedure that was done on Nate.

The doctor clipped the baby's tongue, where he cut a flap underneath the tongue, a procedure which was meant for another baby. And he performed it without the signed consent of Nate's parents.

In a report by Global News, the procedure is normally done if there is a restriction on the tongue's movement. But the thing is, Nate's tongue was normal, which did not need the procedure. For Melton, the hospital took out their baby and cut his mouth.

The unidentified doctor in a progress report stated, "... I had asked for the wrong infant. I had likely performed the procedure on an infant different than the one I intended to ... and I admitted my mistake and apologized."

According to Clint Kelly, Melton's lawyer, "There is no excuse on operating on the wrong baby, none." He further added that, "It's recklessness. There's no excuse for cutting on a healthy child. There's no excuse for mixing up babies at a hospital."

Nate's case is one of the many instances where a surgical procedure was done on the wrong patient. Hospitals and doctors alike must be more prudent before doing any operation especially on newborns and babies who are utterly helpless.