A "tragic mistake" has occurred when doctors accidentally amputated the wrong leg of an elderly man.

The Freistadt Clinic in Austria said in a statement cited by Reuters that the man, 82, is suffering from various medical conditions after the horrific blunder, especially after medics didn't realize their mistake for two days.

"We are deeply shocked that on Tuesday, May 18, despite quality assurance standards, the wrong leg of an 82-year old man ... was amputated," the clinic said, explaining that the error was first noticed when the patient's bandages were being changed, Reuters reported.

Doctors operating. [[imagecaption|| Credit: Alamy / agefotostock]]

The hospital said that the man is suffering from "numerous medical conditions", and the amputation was required because of a previous illness.

The error occurred before surgery when a hospital worker accidentally marked up the wrong leg to be amputated.

The issue went unnoticed until two days after the man's operation.

Austrian news outlet Heute reports that the man did not realize that the wrong leg had been amputated because of the nature of his illnesses.

The 82-year-old, who struggles to speak, is reported to have been asked to confirm that the correct leg was being amputated prior to the procedure.

"It was [Thursday] morning, in the course of the standard wound dressing change, that the tragic mistake, caused by human error, was discovered," the hospital said, according to CNN.

The man has been offered psychological support in the wake of the incident, but he will still have to have the correct leg removed above the knee.

Doctors operating. [[imagecaption|| Credit: Alamy / PhotoAlto]]

In a statement, a spokesperson for the hospital said: "A disastrous combination of circumstances led to the patient's right leg being amputated instead of his left."

The man's family has also been offered psychological support, CNN reports, and details of the mistake have been sent to the region's public prosecutor.

"We would also like to affirm that we will be doing everything to unravel the case, to investigate all internal processes, and critically analyze them. Any necessary steps will immediately be taken," the statement added.

At her own request, the surgeon responsible for the mistake is no longer on duty.

The hospital has now apologized to the man and said that they are "deeply shocked" by the incident.

Featured image credit: Pexels / Vidal Balielo Jr.

Doctors accidentally amputate wrong leg of an elderly man in 'tragic mistake'