Surgeons operate on wrong side of brain

[omgwtfbbq?]

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http://ktla.trb.com/news/ktla-shawnsurgeryoops,0,6846902.story

great... just great....

 

[OctoDoc]

So smart, and yet so stupid. 👎

 

[Psycho Doctor]

Yikes!!! 😱

"Time out" has become such a critical standard of care issue and one JCAHO really looks into. It's amazing this is still happening, especially in such critical areas.

 

[BozoSparky]

wow, they made a bad situation even worse by not documenting their error.

 

[Ypo.]

Ouch.

 

[mysophobe]

Doctors reportedly became aware of the mistake when they opened up the left side of the child's skull and could not find the tumor.

Sorry, this just made me laugh. I know I'm insensitive, but wow.

 

[waterski232002]

I've seen much worse than this... that's a spit in the bucket! JCAHO may mandate that everyone does these "time-out's", but honestly, I rarely see them done (at least for minor procedures, the OR is a different story).

 

[azzarah]

I've seen much worse than this... that's a spit in the bucket! JCAHO may mandate that everyone does these "time-out's", but honestly, I rarely see them done (at least for minor procedures, the OR is a different story).

Really? when i did my surgery rotation everyone did them even for minor procedures. The nurses sometimes had to remind the surgeons, but it always got done.

 

[Psycho Doctor]

I've seen much worse than this... that's a spit in the bucket! JCAHO may mandate that everyone does these "time-out's", but honestly, I rarely see them done (at least for minor procedures, the OR is a different story).

i've seen nthem done for minor things; however people sometimes just go thru the process by rote; it's got to mean something or it's useless

 

[waterski232002]

Really? when i did my surgery rotation everyone did them even for minor procedures. The nurses sometimes had to remind the surgeons, but it always got done.

Keep in mind, when I was a 3rd year med student these verifications weren't standard yet... now I'm an ER resident and when you've got a GSW to the chest, we're not waiting to verify which side we're gonna put the chest tube in. In fact, most of my procedures are minor (arthrocentesis, I+D, LP, central lines, etc...) and done without a nurse or other physician in the room b/c we're just too busy, so there's nobody to really verify.

Then again... it's not like I'm doing brain surgery! 😱

 

[azzarah]

Then again... it's not like I'm doing brain surgery! 😱

By minor procedures I mean small procedures done in the OR like an FOB or mediastinoscopy or something.

 

[mysophobe]

I think I missed the boat here. How do you do a mediastinoscopy on the wrong side?

 

[jaydoc07]

I think I missed the boat here. How do you do a mediastinoscopy on the wrong side?

What about a Chamberlain? I suppose it can be approached from the wrong side.

 

[Ypo.]

I heard you can wake up on the wrong side of the bed, as well. It happens.

 

[azzarah]

What about a Chamberlain? I suppose it can be approached from the wrong side.

You can do it on the wrong patient or you can do the wrong procedure....Time out is not just to varify the side! I actually met someone once who was circumcised in place of another patient. Imagine that happeneing to ya! 😱

 

[waterski232002]

You can do it on the wrong patient or you can do the wrong procedure....Time out is not just to varify the side! I actually met someone once who was circumcised in place of another patient. Imagine that happeneing to ya! 😱

It was probably for the better in the end... 😉

 

[burton117]

Definitely shady that they didn't report it.... Yikes!