wrong one

[tlh]

This is a very unsettling story. This hits close to home since I, too, am being treated at a VA hospital. I guess the second most alarming part of this article is that this poor guy still hasn't had the other one taken out yet for biopsy. I hope the article has the dates wrong because if this happened last June then this guy has put off treatment for 9 mos!!

Link: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/17957546/from/ET/

[Fed]

Wow. That is appalling.

I brought a alcohol- and water-proof black Sharpie along to pre-op, and before my I/O I wrote on the right side of my abdomen "TAKE THIS ONE" and had my surgeon initial it. One can never be too careful.

[Kev332]

Yikes!! That is horrible. Fed, i did the same thing before my surgery! I was so paranoid i made the doctor mark my lower abdomen.

-Kevin

[tlh]

As I've said I am also being treated in a VA facility in Pittsburgh. I bet they asked me no less than 10 to 15 times what my name and ssn was and asked me to tell them why I was there and what side they were operating on just to make sure everyone was on the same page and understood what was going to happen. Now granted, our VA in Pittsburgh is part of the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center so I'm not sure if that's the difference or not. It just shocks me that this still happens in any hospital.

[matthias]

When it was my turn to make the manly "sacrifice" two years ago, and as soon as I had changed into a gown, I was handed a "sharpie" and instructed to prominently mark the thigh of the side to be operated on.

If you are not being asked, do as Kevin did: Take charge!

Yikes!! That is horrible. Fed, i did the same thing before my surgery! I was so paranoid i made the doctor mark my lower abdomen.

-Kevin

[Russell's Mom]

trying

Where I work, the entire surgical team stands together before the surgery to review the case, site, person etc. The patient describes the site, it is well marked. Best of all the administration is open and looking for improvements all of the time. The medical field is a tangled mess...there are still many dedicated people. In fact, if you look at what they face most every day...it is not the pay check that matters...they are there because it means something to them. It is horrible to stand with a care giver after a mistake has been made. Everyone I know wants to put there head comfortably on the pillow at night. There is still much improvement needed. The biggest change that I have seen in my career is when business entered the scene maybe 10-12 years ago. Care givers are at the bedside, people in suits work all day to decide how it should go. Care givers must learn computers, finanace etc., the deciders still sit frightened of disease behind their desk. I'm not sure how it will change, I trust that positives grow, I trust the dedicated people that are still trying. Speaking up is a latest trend, even with JACHO, keep talking!! Take care, Russell's mom, Sharon

[jdbob]

The nurse shaved me the day before the operation, and only on the side of the testicle to be removed. Using that procedure it would be pretty hard for the surgeon to get the wrong one.

[IowaBrian]

I was single side shaved too thought it was a joke but they did it while I was out. They did have me sport a wrist band for the side that had to go.... come to think of it unless there is no lump how could he take the wrong one would have to be in the bottom of the med school pool.

[tlh]

one would have to be in the bottom of the med school pool.

Even the one that finishes last in his class is still called "Doctor"

[matthias]

Or: "90% of all Graduates do not finish in the top 10% of their class!"

Even the one that finishes last in his class is still called "Doctor"

[Matt_24]

What do you call the Medical student who graduates last in his/her class?................CAPTAIN.

Just kidding. I've had some outstanding doctors in the military.

[fuse929]

I made darn sure every person I met the morning of the surgery knew which one needed to go.......in retrospect, most of the people I told probably had no business knowing, but better safe then sorry! haha