A man in Wisconsin says his ankle is now home to an infection and horrific wound brought on by a botched surgery -- and now that he's suing over it, we've obtained some super gross pics.
Nestor Vega is the patient behind the lawsuit, and he claims during a procedure to treat a car accident injury, he heard a loud noise and feared a fragment from a device used to drain his wound had broken off under his skin.
Vega claims one doc told him his fears were unlikely and reassured him by saying ... "Even if it did, it should be sterile, and it's small enough of a fragment, so it shouldn't cause any issues like an infection or anything."
But as Vega claims, there was indeed a fragment of a medical device left behind in his ankle and it caused a painful and debilitating infection.
Vega's lawyer, B'Ivory LaMarr, shared images with TMZ that he says show the aftermath of infection ... and it's extremely graphic. Think rotting pork chop.
In his suit, Vega claims he kept complaining to doctors about a pain in his ankle but they brushed him off until a follow-up visit revealed the fragment lodged in his body.
Vega claims the fragment caused the infection that turned his ankle into a disgusting mess ... and he's going after the surgeons, Froedtert Memorial Lutheran Hospital, and the Medical College of Wisconsin for damages.
A rep for the hospitals tells us, "We are empathetic to any patient whose expectations have not been met during their course of care. Due to patient privacy laws and ongoing litigation, we are not commenting further."