It is tragic when doctors make a big mistake when taking care of a patient during any procedure. That was just such the case recently in Minnesota when a patient when into the hospital to have a tumorous kidney removed and her healthy kidney was removed by error. There is just no excuse at all for that kind of error and the hospital has been apologizing profusely for the problem.
In response to the problem, the hospital has implemented a new procedure which calls for diagnostic imaging. The error was made because the surgical team was following information on a medical chart that had been documented prior to surgery. The new protocols will rewuire the "surgical care team to verify laterality using the diagnostic imaging study before the surgery begins". This should protect future patients from this type of problem.
We typically think of preventive imaging tools being used to detect problems like cancer. However it is possible for them to be used in order to act in a sort of checks-and-balances system for cases such as these. Because we have so many medical tools at our disposal, it makes sense to make use of them in any way we can to assist patients in receiving better care.
Question of the Day: What is the worst medical horror story that you have ever heard?
