How Often Are Surgical Tools Left in a Person’s Body After Surgery?

People may require surgery for a variety of reasons. A patient preparing for surgery can feel overwhelmed and anxious before their procedure, especially if it will be very intensive and complicated. But, when the day of surgery arrives, the belief is that the medical team performing the procedure will do so with a high duty of care and attentiveness to keep a patient safe.

One of the biggest challenges and concerns that surgical departments and infection services have when procedures are scheduled is the potential for mistakes or errors to take place. Specifically, when it comes to surgery, the possibility of surgical items left inside of a patient’s body. This is are a serious problem and a phenomenon that happens throughout the United States. The Joint Commission is a non-profit organization that evaluates the healthcare industry to promote safe and quality care. From 2005 through 2012, The Joint Commission reported 772 incidents where a surgical patient had a foreign object left inside of them after their procedure.

What Surgical Items are Found Most Often Inside a Patient?

Instances of retained surgical items pose grave harm to patients. When a patient is the victim of an RSI after surgery, it may take another invasive surgical procedure to extract the item. The physical and mental pain that a victim suffers can be catastrophic and as a result, meeting with an attorney can be beneficial. The Cincinnati medical malpractice lawyer at The Green Law Firm can assist you when you were victimized by medical malpractice.

Often, RSI incidents can be quite painful for a victim causing infection and even death in the most severe cases. When a patient survives their RSI event, they may have to live with not just the physical scarring but also mental pain from their experience. These medical mistakes can be devastating for victims.

There are many ways that it can be determined that a patient suffered an RSI event. Potentially, very soon after the surgical procedure, it may be realized that the victim had an RSI, or follow-up visits to the doctor may also lead to identification. If during recovery from surgery a patient feels a lot of pain, imaging like X-rays may be used to detect a foreign body. 

The Association of periOperative Registered Nurses cites the most common items that are left inside patients’ bodies:

• Soft materials like towelettes 
• Needles
• Forceps
• Parts of broken medical instruments
• Malleable retractors

From 2005 through 2012, there were 16 deaths because of RSI happenings. Surgical procedures where the abdomen must be opened have the highest risk of an RSI taking place. 

Speak to an Ohio Medical Malpractice Attorney Today

The Cincinnati personal injury attorneys at The Green Law Firm are here to advocate on your behalf and fight to preserve your rights if medical errors caused your harm. It is critical that you obtain the most compensation from an Ohio or Indiana medical malpractice claim and The Green Law Firm can help. If you would like to discuss your medical malpractice experience and learn more about what your legal options are to secure the compensation you deserve, please call The Green Law Firm today to schedule a free consultation at (513) 769-0840.