Wrong Side Brain Surgeries X3

[docB]

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A hospital where neurosurgeons have operated on the wrong sides of patients heads three times in recent months has been fined:
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,313002,00.html

So a question:

"We are extremely concerned about this continuing pattern," Director of Health David R. Gifford said in a written statement. "While the hospital has made improvements in the operating room, they have not extended these changes to the rest of the hospital."

What changes regarding wrong side craniotomies need to be extended to the rest of the hospital? Have there been instances of wrong side surgeries in the cafeteria?

 

[kronickm]

aren't neurosurgeons supposed to be smart.


j/k

 

[docB]

aren't neurosurgeons supposed to be smart.


j/k

It's not rocket science.

 

[Miami_med]

It's not brain surgery. Oh wait........

 

[Llenroc]

Most neurosurgeons really aren't that smart, or at least no smarter than anyone else in medicine. I would tend to agree that it's not "rocket science".

Maybe they need more work hour restrictions. My uncle trained in Neurosurgery in England in the 1970's. When he was on call, if he did a single procedure, he got to leave the hospital right afterwards and was given the whole next day off. Of course that's hardly the case in America, for residents or attendings. Would you want to go in for a brain surgery, knowing that the guy doing it was up all night doing procedures on other people?

 

[docB]

As with most problems in medicine this is not just a neurosurgeon issue. It's a surgeon/OR systems issue. Clearly the surgeon as the captain of the ship is ultimately responsable and to do a wrong site surgery they must mess up several times during the process. However, other factors come into play as well. Is the imaging available? Did the patient verify the correct side to the preop nurse? Did the OR staff drape the correct side? A lot of things have to go wrong to have a wrong site surgery.