Soldier loses legs after gall bladder surgery goes wrong

A 20-year-old airman lost both his legs after what should have been a simple gall bladder surgery, prompting charges from the patient's family that problem wouldn't have gotten so out of hand if the military facility had acted more quickly to address a critical surgical error.

According to family of Airman 1st Class Colton Read, a resident punctured Read's aorta when attempting to remove his gall bladder with a laparoscopic device. The allegedly botched surgery took place at Grant Medical Canter at Travis Air Force Base, Fairfield, CA.

Officials at Grant Medical Center waited nine hours before they admitted something was very wrong and flew him to UC Davis for further treatment, said Jessica Read, the airman's wife, and at no time during that period did they bring in a vascular surgeon, family members say. Once at UC Davis, Read went through several surgeries, including amputation of both his legs above the knee.

To learn more about the surgical mishap:
- read this UPI story