• 05
  • May
    2011

During our last post we followed-up on the wrong-site surgery of a four-year-old boy to illustrate the prevalence of medical mistakes during surgery. We also began to talk about six things that patients can do to prevent wrong-site surgeries. The first thing that patients can do to safeguard themselves is simply ask the doctor and staff, "What are you going to do to ensure that you don't operate on the wrong site?" The question will put the concern of a wrong-site surgery into the mind of the medical staff.

The second thing that patients can do to limit their risk is to ask for a "time-out" right before anesthesia. It is recommended by the Joint Commission's Universal Protocol that the medical team that is going to operate take time before surgery to communicate and come to a consensus on what is going to occur during the surgery. The president of the National Patient Safety Foundation says patients should not be afraid to ask for a time-out before anesthesia.

Patients should also say their full name and birth date so that their name can be double or even tripled-checked before surgery. Everyone involved in the care of the patient should know who they are. If patients have a common name, then their middle name should also be used. Patients should also not hurry through the informed consent form. The informed consent form lists the risks and possible complications and should not be rushed through.

Patients should also make sure the surgeon performing the surgery initial the surgical site. Finally, patients should trust their instincts about whether something feels wrong. The parents of the 4-year-old boy who had a wrong-site surgery on his eye said one the morning of the surgery one of the surgical nurses spoke about paperwork regarding surgery on both eyes. Until then, there had been no mention of surgery on both eyes.

Source: CNN, "Patients, beware of wrong-side surgeries," Sabriya Rice, 4/28/11