To clarify, “wrong-site surgery” occurs when a doctor operates on, say…
Your brain.
When he was supposed to operate on, say…
Your big toe.
Or someone else.
Or even someone else’s big toe.
That’s right; in a few cases, doctors have even operated on the wrong patient. However, the report strongly emphasizes that THIS IS VERY RARE, and only occurred when doctors didn’t have the right patient to begin with:
“Let’s see, according to this chart, Mrs. Freemont is 68 years old and is here for a triple by-pass. Nurse, please shave away that thick hair on her chest, right below her Hell’s Angels tattoo.”
“Doctor, are you sure this is the right patient?”
“Absolutely, it says so right here on her chart.”
“But this patient looks like a man.”
“To the untrained eye, perhaps. But if you’ll lift up her hospital gown you’ll see…HOLY COW!”
“What is it, doctor?!”
“This is going to be more complicated than I thought…”
The organization that conducted the study, which was headed up by Dr. Dennis O’Leary, says there are a number of reasons “wrong-site surgery” has increased in recent years. According to Dr. O’Leary, “Doctors are busy, and people are being put to sleep before there is an opportunity to verify who they are, what procedure is going to be performed on them, and on what site.”
What this means, of course, is that you should always insist on staying awake long enough to meet your surgeon, and, if at all possible, scrub in for the operation itself.
For situations when that isn’t possible—such as assisting with your own brain surgery, it’s a good idea to write out a list of instructions that you can keep with you at all times.
These instructions should include: Your name, the type of operation you’d like to have, and what part of your body you’d like it to happen on.
Here’s an example:
Hello.
My name is Ned.
I’d like to have brain surgery, please.
If possible, I’d like it to happen on my head.
(Please see arrows)
You should know that the surgery which holds the greatest risk to patients is orthopedic surgery, which involves operating on the arms and legs, and therefore increases possible confusion between right and left:
“Okay, let’s open up that right arm…Wait a minute. Is it supposed to be MY right, or HIS right?”
“I’m not sure, doctor.”
“Let’s see…if I turn this way, that would make it my right and his left—right?”
“That’s true, doctor, but what if it’s your left.”
“You’re right! Let’s try flipping him over, and then we can…WAIT! He’s clutching some instructions…”
I should mention that out of the estimated 40 million operations performed in the U.S. last year, only 58 resulted in “wrong-site surgery.”
I should also mention that none of them were fatal, and that all of them happened to Joan Rivers.
As you might’ve guessed, the results from this study have prompted hospitals to find ways to reduce the numbers of “wrong-site” incidents that occur each year. While I’ve had a chance to read over some of the suggestions, I’m going to refrain from including any of them here—just to avoid stepping on any toes.
Especially if they happen to be my doctor’s.
(You can write to Ned Hickson at nhickson@thesiuslawnews.com, or at the Siuslaw News at P.O. Box 10, Florence, OR 97439)
Ned's Blog 
lol. thank you!
You’re welcome! Thanks for reading 🙂
Got it! Next surgery I will pin a note to my gown like I am a kindergartener. 😉
Exactly! Definitely go with the pin and not a Sticky Note, which could come off if you scrub-in 🙂
Tattoo is even better if at all possible.
And definitely more stylish, unless you’re in for a vasectomy.
Lol!
Oh my…
Just trying to be helpful…
The truth is, we actually do have patients mark their surgical site on the correct site with a Sharpie marker prior to being put to sleep. After they are put to sleep, the doctor is required to mark one also. This is part of a procedure called a Time Out, which verifies the patient’s identity per the patient, physician, and nurse in charge.
It makes sense. I guess I’m just afraid the next step will be UPS numbers they can scan, like at the grocery store. I’ve seen how many times the checkers have to scan items to get them right.. But hey, maybe there will be coupons, too! Thanks for reading!
This is hilarious 🙂 Thanks for the good laugh before I head to work!
My pleasure — Thanks for stopping in!
I’ve drawn on myself with a marker, better safe than altered!
Me too, but not for surgery. Just because I could 🙂 Thanks for stopping in!
You’re pressed! Freshly! Well done.
Thanks for being one of my first readers and followers, Erica!
Having survived four orthopedic surgeries since 2000, my most recent surgery being full left hip replacement, here’s what really happens…they actually write THIS ONE on the spot where they are to cut, and they also ask you several times which one they are to operate on to make sure they are doing the right thing and you know it as well. Thank God!
I don’t know if my doctor asking me which hip he’s supposed to operate on right before surgery would make me feel any better. Then again, maybe I could ask for something better, like a bionic arm. It’s worth a shot 🙂 Thanks for reading!
Very funny…so entertaining, and horrifying to think about!!
Thanks so much! Sometimes I find my columns horrifying to think about, too… 🙂
This is fantastically funny! Having borne witness to a few surgeries myself, I’m afraid to say that it may be shockingly accurate… Okay, maybe not. But, a great read!
LOL! If it’s on the Internet, it has to be accurate, right?! Thanks for stopping in — I love your icon, btw.
Hilarious! Thankyou!
You’re welcome — Thank you for reading!
Reblogged this on the body junkie and commented:
Add your thoughts here… (optional)
Very interesting and scary! And you must also avoid hospitals in July as that is when the new flock of residents join…
http://missonceuponamarathon.wordpress.com/
As a general rule, I to avoid hospitals any time of year. Thanks for the tip, and for reading!
Everyone needs to stop becoming a wimp before surgery. Kick that anesthetist out and tell the docs that you don’t need any and if they need an extra hand to help in the surgery that you will gladly volunteer.
That’s RIGHT! I’m behind you 100 percent! And I will stay behind you right through surgery.
This is great! I love the humor that you added to a serious topic. I work in an operating room and could totally picture these things happening. I assure you though, that at my hospital we properly do our Time-Out to prevent those types of mistakes. 🙂
x melissa little
Another hospital person mentioned the term “Time Out.” I think if I could convey this idea to my children, my time outs for them would be taken more seriously. Thanks for reading, Melissa!
Very funny. I’d heard of this study before and it just seems so unbelievable. I grew up in a smallish city and had many family members who worked in the local hospital. Nobody would cut me open thinking I was Mrs. Jenkins, but in bigger cities or communities that are less connected, I guess it could quite easily happen.
Definitely. In fact, I used to be Mrs. Jenkins before my last bunion operation … 🙂 Seriously, though, it’s scary. Thanks for reading!
Haha! Love this!
Thanks for stopping by!
Try being in the veterinary industry where the patients cant talk! I get on my techs all the time to make sure that they are prepping the proper leg! Gives me shudders to think that I might amputate the wrong leg or make an approach to the wrong joint!
I can imagine! It’s hard enough keeping track of two arms or two legs — but FOUR arms?! God be with you — or at least a good lawyer. Thanks for reading!
As sad as it is, is as funny as you made the post! Congrats on being Freshly Pressed! 😀
Thanks so much!
So funny.I had to stop in because I had a knee replacement this summer and this made me laugh.They did write me up and detail on my skin before I went in.Now I know why.
I’m thinking about opening up a series of tattoo parlors inside hospital waiting rooms 🙂
I read somewhere that before surgery you should mark which arm/leg you would like to be operated on with a permanent marker. Then, just to be safe, write NOT THIS ONE on the opposite extremity. Safety first! Loved this post 🙂
The same goes for vasectomies if you bring a friend. Thanks for reading, Doc!
My dad had knee surgery after a skiing accident about 20 years ago. He actually wrote on his left leg in permanent marker “Wrong Leg” to avoid wrong-site surgery. And I should mention that he was a practicing surgeon at the time, so he knew the stats (and felt it was worth the trouble of learning to write upside down).
Smart man! I rest my case 🙂
How about a sign-in sheet? My name is ____________ and I am here for ____________ surgery.
If you could sell the idea to Post-Its, I think you will be rich!
My husband had to go in for a “slap” repair last January and the nurse actually wrote on his left arm “NOT THIS ONE, DOC” lol I thought it was funny, but she said in military hospitals you see so many patients for so many reasons, it’s best to be safe.
The idea of a “slap” operation alone would scare me. Sounds like they are repairing a fender. Even then, you better mark the right one… is or it the left …?
What’s worse is that my husband went in for a surgery to remove inflamed tissue from around the bone in his shoulder. They thought that was the cause of 18 months of pain and limited movement… It wasn’t. He had torn the labrum in his shoulder during combatives training more than a year before his surgery took place. He was in pain for a while, but now, has next to no pain and nearly 90% range of motion.
And yes, it does sound like something they would do to a car. “I need an oil change and slap repair, please.” lol
All kidding aside, I’m glad your husband is feeling good again and appreciate his service.
Instructions and diagrams for safe measure!
With my drawing skills, a diagram would only confuse the situation. Possibly eve my gender.
I should also mention that none of them were fatal, and that all of them happened to Joan Rivers.
That is so funny! I just about spit out my drink on that one. Very nice post.
Thanks, Granny K! I hope you weren’t drinking Starbuck’s; it’s too expensive to spit up!
When I had knee surgery, the nurse put a black X on the correct knee so there wouldn’t be any mistake. At the ophthalmologist’s office that I work at, when we prep the patients (while they are awake), we’ll put a smiley face on a piece of tape over the surgery eye. It’s rather cute and the patients like it. Easy and simple solutions.
There’s no way I could be awake for eye surgery. You’d have to remove my eye and I could come back for it. I like your solution, though. Thanks for stopping in!
lol! Now I know for when I go to the dentist to stick a post it on my forehead before the laughing gas kick in.
Absolutely. As a courtesy, I put one at the other end too. If that gas comes out during surgery, trust me — no one is laughing.
oh my gosh.. this was hilarious! great read 🙂
Thanks for reading — and laughing 🙂
There’s a hospital close to my town, that’s notorious for making these “careless” mistakes– amputating the wrong leg, arm, etc. So many of these incidents have happened that people even nicknamed it Crippler (from Tripler).
We have a barbershop like that… 🙂 Thanks for reading, Faye!
Amazing post. I haven’t laughed so hard in the last few days. Also thanks for the information.
You’re welcome — Thanks for reading!
So, if I look at the patient in a mirror, is it your left or my Dad’s right? Lol.
Yes, it’s very complicated. And don’t even think about using the “North, south, east or west quadrant” approach.
That would be a very bad decision indeed!!
You left that funny comment on my blog last week and I couldn’t find your blog. How ironic that I find you through Freshly Pressed!
You should add your blog to your profile so that when people click on your gravatar (face) they can find you!
I have heard of this happening and will take a sharpie to my next surgery (hopefully not in the near future), just in case….
Thanks so much, Susie! And I really appreciate the great tip!
My pleasure!
It’s happened to a friend of mine. The docs thought he was the guy next door – who also happened to be three times his weight – and, if the premed had been given, my friend would have been under the table rather than on it! Fortunately, his wife is a nurse and spotted the error in time.
Yikes! Imagine being the guy next door — painful!
Love it. Thanks for sharing lol
My pleasure, Jeremy. Thanks for reading!
You are a f%$&* genius. I had brain surgery! Seriously. I had lots of complications! Doctors need lots of administrative help. They are stupid without their nurses for the most part..PS: I am a retired RN after 30 years. I know. ; )
Wow! Given your background, I take that as a huge compliment. That said, my brain has lots of complications without surgery. I don’t plan on letting a doctor make it worse. Especially if I’m just getting my toe removed. Thanks for stopping in!
Worst is when they get the IV hook wrong. Jab Jab.. oops wrong wrist.
I hear you! I make it a practice to continuously squeeze a tennis ball for two days prior to giving blood or getting a shot. It really helps with the vein location process.
Reblogged this on myveryoddlife and commented:
Add your thoughts here… (optional)
Reblogged this on Oyia Brown and commented:
Add your thoughts here… (optional)
Very funny,yet not. My surgeon wrote on my left,to be operated knee (ACL replacement) while I was still awake. It was disturbing and reassuring at the same time.
It’s funny how often “disturbing” and “reassuring” are used in the same sentence. Especially in reference to something I wrote… Thanks for reading, and good luck on that ACL!
The surgery was very successful – have run 3 marathons and play basketball twice a week since. Congrats on being Freshly Pressed – you are worthy.
Glad to hear it — and thanks for the kind words.
if at all possible, scrub in for the operation itself lol
Thanks for stopping in!
So funny! I had a friend who had to have several surgeries due to stomach tumors. For his most recent one he drew a big smiley face on the tumor (it kind of looked like he was pregnant with an orange) and said “cut this out.” He had been opened on the wrong side before… 😦
Thanks for a hilarious post, definitely made me laugh out loud several times. And it’s really good advice!
Thanks, Courtney! Your friend sounds like a lot of fun and would make a good father to any kind of citrus fruit 🙂 Thanks for reading!
This is hilarious. Definitely using this 🙂
http://stepstochangetheworld.wordpress.com/
Reblogged this on WordPress Report and commented:
Add your thoughts here… (optional)
The part with Please see arrows is my favorite:)
Thanks for stopping in!
Wrong-site surgeries are rare…but they’re still scary…
I really like your blog and would love you to feature on mine, http://www.5thingstodotoday.com. All you have to do is write five suggestions along with a link back to your site. Please check out the blog and see the sort of things people have written about.
Thanks so much — I’ll definitely do that!
excellent and the Joanie quip did make me laugh! I do know someone who had the wrong kidney taken out…………..not fatal but a hell of a life changer because, of course, the other one wasn’t too healthy. This I have to say did not happen in America.
Good to know — and thanks for reading!