WTSP-TV, Tampa-St. Petersburg, Fla.

WELLINGTON, Fla. — One Florida woman is taking action after she went in for a routine back surgery and left with one less kidney.

Maureen Pacheco was in her early 50s when a surgeon mistook her healthy kidney for a cancerous tumor on the operating table in April 2016, the Palm Beach Post reported.

During the procedure, Dr. Ramon Vazques saw her kidney, believed it was a tumor, declared an emergency and took it out, said an administrative complaint made by Florida’s Department of Health.

Vazques could now face a range of penalties — from losing his license to only paying a fine, the complaint said.

The Palm Beach Post reported that Vasques wasn’t even the surgeon assigned to perform the back surgery but was brought in to make the incision for the other surgeons to perform the scheduled surgery.

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