A Georgia man who underwent surgery two years ago for a brain bleed and had to have part of his skull temporarily removed was then charged thousands of dollars after medical staff lost the bone and had to use synthetic materials to replace it, his attorneys said.

Fernando Cluster, 62, was initially admitted to Emory University Hospital Midtown in Atlanta on Sept. 30, 2022, and underwent a decompressive hemicraniectomy, a surgery to relieve pressure on the brain, according to a lawsuit filed earlier this month .

The lawsuit states that Clusters medical procedure involved removing a 12-by-15-centimeter portion of his skull, known as a bone flap. The bone flap was scheduled to be surgically replaced during a cranioplasty the next month.

However, Emory hospital workers were unable to find Clusters bone flap at the time of the follow-up surgery on Nov. 11, 2022, the lawsuit says.

The hospital did not immediately respond to HuffPosts request for a comment and has so far not responded to Clusters claims in court filings.