Jon Gabriel wrote:
>
> http://customwire.ap.org/dynamic/stories/S/SURGICAL_TOOLS?SITE=NYWNE&SECTION=HOME
>
> Jan 16, 4:11 AM EST
> Surgery Tools Left in 1,500 People a Year
>
> By JEFF DONN
> Associated Press Writer
>
> BOSTON (AP) -- A study on medical mistakes found operating room teams around
> the country leave sponges, clamps and other tools inside about 1,500
> patients every year, largely because of stress from emergencies or
> complications discovered during surgery.
<snippage>
> Most lost objects were sponges, but also included were metal clamps and
> electrodes. In two cases, 11-inch retractors - metal strips used to hold
> back tissue - were forgotten inside patients. In another operation, four
> sponges were left inside someone.
>
> The lost objects were usually lodged around the abdomen or hips but
> sometimes in the chest, vagina or other cavities. They often caused tears,
> obstructions or infections. One patient died of complications, but the
> researchers withheld details for reasons of privacy.
>
> Most patients needed additional surgery to remove the object, but sometimes
> it came out by itself or in a doctor's office. In other cases, patients were
> not even aware of the object, and it turned up in later surgery for other
> problems.
Or they don't turn up until the patient sets off the metal detector in
the airport with the retractor she didn't know she still had in her....
(Anyone got a URL for an article on that one? It happened relatively
recently....)
Julia
_______________________________________________
http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
