Unfortunately, errors can happen in the operating room, which is worrying. And one of them is wrong-site surgery – cases of a patient’s wrong organ being operated on or removed have been reported. These errors should never occur, as they lead to significant effects.
This guide discusses three causes of wrong-site surgery:
Poor scheduling
Surgeons depend on other professionals to provide the information they need for a procedure. For instance, the hospital schedules patients that a surgeon should treat daily. Of course, the surgeon knows the patients. They met them during prior appointments to learn more about their conditions before scheduling the procedures. However, if a scheduling error occurs, perhaps patient A is rescheduled, and the surgeon is not informed, they may perform the wrong procedure on the patient given their slot.
Nonetheless, this may not only be a hospital problem. Surgeons should recheck patient information before starting a procedure, regardless of how conversant they are with their records. They should know who entered their operating room.
Inadequate staffing
Hospitals with fewer surgeons admitting a significant number of patients may have a significant number of wrong-site surgeries. Exhaustion is dangerous in the medical field. Burnout can cause a physician to make major mistakes.
A surgeon should have a reasonable volume of procedures in a day to have enough time for rest.
Many surgeons handling one procedure
Some surgeries require more than one surgeon to be involved. If these surgeons don’t communicate effectively, a patient may experience wrong-site/procedure errors.
Further, moving a patient to another operating room without following appropriate steps, including the transfer of documents, may also result in such errors.
If a surgeon performs a wrong-site surgery on you, it may help to consider your legal options to get the compensation you deserve.