People with Surgical Instruments Left in Body

Leaving surgical instruments or material mistakenly within the body of a patient occurs in the United States thousands of times annually, according to research.

Surgical instruments retained in the body can perforate organs and cause excruciating pain, which can potentially result fatal infections.

Typically necessary, is additional surgery. It is clearly a medical error to leave a surgical instrument in the body of a patient.

Simply stated, there is no excuse for this type of error.

Any patient who has been subjected to sustained injuries and/or the additional suffering and pain of corrective surgery due to a retained surgical instrument, has every right to pursue full compensation through a lawsuit of medical malpractice.

Physicians and nurses, during a surgical procedure, administering an operation use various types of equipment.

Some of these kinds may be used actually within the opening of surgery to keep the area accessible and control bleeding.

Some typical instruments which are left inside the body cavities subsequent to surgery are the following: forceps and clamps; scissors, needles and tweezers; retractors; gauze; and sponges.

Sponges, by far, are the most typical equipment to be left behind. They are usually indistinguishable from the surrounding tissue in the body.

Of all tools left within the body, two-thirds are estimated to be sponges.

Instruments and tools left inside the human body, subsequent to surgery, can result in many complications, if not death.

There may be several complications and injuries, which occur depending on the kind of instrument, and where it is located in the body: infection; slow healing; puncture of internal organs; pain; and death.

The key reason which retaining of surgical instruments should be an occurrence that never takes place is that it is preventable always.

Although it does occur, there is no reason that this should ever take place.

In Germany, it was reported that a man of 74 years old had about 16 various medical items left in his body subsequent to surgery.

Surgical teams and medical centers, to be certain that instruments are not left in bodies, need to remain vigilant in keeping used equipment on track.

Item counts should be considered before and subsequent to surgery. To track inventory, barcodes can be attached to tools, and a complete examination needs to be administered prior to closing an opening.

After surgery, when a surgical instrument is left behind and results in injury, it is clearly a case of medical malpractice.

This should never occur, and the surgeon and medical center may both be liable for any damaging results, and the victim should receive full compensation for sustained injuries and subsequent medical treatment.

Members of a surgical team and surgeons should establish procedures, such as counts or checklists to keep track of, surgical instruments, sponges, and various used materials during the procedure.

These procedures, however, must be adhered to for them to be effective.

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