When you think of the phrase "surgical error," you probably think of a grave mistake that a surgeon made while actually performing the procedure. Maybe the surgeon nicked a blood vessel, or operated on the wrong part of the body. These things do happen; and often to very unfortunate results. A little bit further down the list "surgical error examples" would be a mistake that many people may understandably think should never happen: the medical staff leaves a piece of equipment inside of a patient.
This type of surgical error is particularly scary. Not only is the patient completely unaware that it happened, but clearly the medical staff members on hand for the surgery don't know it happened either. The foreign object can lie in a person's body for weeks, months or even years -- and all that time, it is wreaking havoc on the patient's system.
According to a new report, 772 people have had a piece of medical equipment left inside of them in recent years (the study looked at patients from 2005 to 2012). The report went even further: it found that 95 percent of these people needed a longer stay in the hospital to address the issue.
It may not be a shocking revelation, but it is a telling one. People who endure this kind of surgical error often have their lives changed forever. They suffer physically, mentally and emotionally from the trauma they have endured -- and over something so trivial and preventable. The negligence of the hospital and its staff should not stand in situations like this. The patient can (and should) consider his or her legal options in the wake of such an incident, because a medical malpractice lawsuit could earn them the compensation they need to get through this difficult time.
Source: CBS News, "Nearly 800 surgical tools left in patients since 2005: Report," Ryan Jaslow, Oct. 18, 2013
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