Surgeons have left nearly 5,000 instruments in patients.
In a disturbing report, a new study has found that approximately 4,857 objects have been left inside of patients in the past two decades.
From September 1990 to September 2010, a research in journal Surgery concluded that there were exactly 9,744 paid malpractice lawsuits during that time frame for “never events, the errors that should never, ever occur". Of that total number, 4,857 objects were left inside of human bodies. The remainder of the suits involved surgeons operating on the wrong body part, or performing the incorrect medical procedure.
Patients who received the wrong procedure had the highest chances of death or life-long injury. Many hospitals are implementing checklists and stricter procedures so these horrific mistakes will be reduced in the future.
Earlier this year, a man in England had to have follow-up surgery at East Kent Hospital after the surgeons left their forceps surgical tool inside the patient's body. Doctors noticed the mistake when the man came in for a postoperative X-ray.
Two similar incidents were reported in nearby Medway Maritime Hospital, where drill bits broke off or were left in surgery patients, but the doctors decided it was best to just leave them in.
