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S U P P L E M E N T T O O U T P AT I E N T S U R G E R Y M A G A Z I N E O N L I N E | O C T O B E R 2 0 1 4
I
t's a wonder wrong-site surgeries don't happen more often in orthopedics:
2 sides, 10 digits, multiple sites for common everyday surgeries. As a veter-
an of a wrong procedure (I released the carpal tunnel when I was sup-
posed to release a trigger finger), I can tell you firsthand the key roles that
safety systems and a culture of safety play in preventing errors from caus-
ing harm. In the time it takes to conduct a hard time out and mark the surgical
site, take this short quiz to test your knowledge of wrong-site surgery.
Wrong-site, wrong-procedure and wrong-patient
errors are the most common sentinel event.
a.
true
b.
false
W R O N G - S I T E S U R G E R Y
Steer Clear of Wrong-Site Surgery
These kind of mistakes are called never events because
they never should happen to anyone, but they do happen.
David Ring, MD, PhD | Boston, Mass.
Pamela
Bevelhymer,
RN,
BSN
BAD INK? Does signing the sur-
gical site compromise sterility?