A well-known surgeon mistakenly did a mastectomy on a patient who did not reportedly have cancer following which an investigation has started.

Dr Barbara Heartwell performed the surgery in the fall of 2009 after she misread a pathology report. She is a surgeon at Hôtel-Dieu Grace Hospital.

The patient came to know about this error in follow-up appointments. The identity of the patient is being kept confidential.

Terming it as a serious error officials have apologized for this erroneous surgery.

Board chair Egidio Sovran said, "We are profoundly sorry that this has occurred. While errors are extremely rare, as a hospital, we take every possible precaution to ensure the highest level of care and we will be conducting a full investigation."

Dr Heartwell who did the surgery is currently on a vacation has conducted this operation on several women in the Windsor area. She will be monitored after she gets back to work. Her pathology reports and the patient's past mastectomy records are being scanned just to ensure that such mistakes have not taken lace in the past.