Retained Objects are a Serious Surgical Complication

December 13, 2012

When patients enter a New Mexico hospital for surgery, they rely on their surgeons and the rest of the medical staff to see them through safely. What many people do not realize is that even skilled surgical staff too often fail their patients when it comes to an important part of every surgery.

Retained objects

In about one out of every 1,000 to 18,000 operations, some foreign object is retained inside a patient after surgery. Annually, this amounts to about 4,000 instances of retained surgical items, commonly called RSIs, across the United States.

Most of the RSIs are surgical sponges. Surgeons can use scores of these gauze sponges to absorb blood during an operation, and a blood-soaked sponge can be overlooked when it is time to close up the surgical incision.

One study recently found that sponges were more likely to be left behind during emergency surgery, when the surgical team changed during the operation, and when surgery was conducted outside regular Monday through Friday daytime hours. Keeping track of sponges requires counting them carefully, so anything that might influence the counting process could increase the error rate.

Some better alternatives

Advocacy groups urge that the entire surgical team must take responsibility for accurate sponge counts, unlike the current custom of having just one of the nurses keep track. Holding everyone on the team accountable should translate into improved accuracy.

Along with personal accountability, a major contributor to counting accuracy is new technology. Sponges are now being produced that incorporate electronic tracking devices. Each sponge in a surgical package has a tiny radio frequency tag embedded in it, which must be tallied with a radio detection device as it is unpacked and used and again when it is removed.

Another type of sponge counting technology uses bar codes, like those on supermarket goods. The codes are scanned to account for each sponge.

Possible RSI complications

Leaving a sponge or other item inside a patient can lead to serious complications, even years later. In the case of one woman who had been operated on four years previously, she suddenly experience agonizing abdominal pain and vomiting. Diagnostic tests revealed that a sponge had been left behind from that surgery.

According to an article on the woman's experience in the New York Times, the sponge had adhered to internal organs and caused a massive infection. Surgery to remove the sponge also involved removing a part of her intestine, and she is still plagued with bowel problems and cannot work. In addition to the physical symptoms, she suffers from depression and anxiety.

Anyone who has had surgery in New Mexico and was later found to have an RSI should immediately get in touch with a personal injury attorney. The costs of an RSI can be considerable, including lost wages as well as medical expenses. An attorney can help obtain compensation for these costs as well as payment for pain and suffering, which can be a much too significant part of the experience.

Article provided by The Kauffman Firm
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