When a patient goes in for surgery, there’s always the risk of wrong-site surgery. This can happen when the surgeon performs the wrong operation or operates on the wrong patient. It also happens when they operate at the wrong location on that patient, such as operating on the opposite side of the body or at the wrong level on the spinal cord.
One step that doctors can take to avoid this is to mark patients prior to the procedure. A doctor may simply draw an X or write their initials. In some cases, such as with plastic surgery, they will actually draw lines where they would like to make incisions. Either way, this gives the surgeon one more detail that they can check to ensure that they’re carrying out the correct procedure.
Involving the patient
Another benefit of marking the patient in advance is that they are involved in the process. If someone comes in for surgery on their left knee and the doctor draws an X on their right knee, for instance, it’s immediately apparent to the patient that something is wrong. Even if the surgeon doesn’t realize it due to a paperwork error, a miscommunication error or something of this nature, the patient may speak up and help to avoid the issue.
That said, mistakes can and do still happen. Even if the surgeon marks the patient, if they’re looking at the wrong information, they could still make a mistake. The patient may not necessarily know where the markings are supposed to be. If it’s slightly too high on their spine, for instance, they may not say anything because they will assume that the surgeon has gotten it correct.
In cases where wrong-site surgery does happen, it’s an example of medical malpractice, and so injured patients need to know what legal options they have.
