surgical errors

9 Stories

Dinner Plate-Sized Surgical Device Left in Woman's Belly
She Griped of Pain for Over a
Year. Then, a Surprising Find
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

She Griped of Pain for Over a Year. Then, a Surprising Find

Dinner plate-sized surgical device was left in New Zealand woman's belly after C-section in 2020

(Newser) - A New Zealand woman who gave birth by cesarean section in 2020 lived for 18 months with a surgical device "about the size of a dinner plate" concealed in her abdomen, according to a report released Monday. The unnamed woman in her 20s complained of chronic pain in the...

Surgeon Relies on Memory, Removes Wrong Kidney

Dr. Charles Coonan Streit on probation after removing federal inmate's healthy kidney

(Newser) - A federal inmate entered surgery in February 2013 thinking he would soon be free of his cancerous left kidney. When he emerged, he had lost his healthy right one instead. It was a mix-up that could have been easily avoided had California surgeon Dr. Charles Coonan Streit examined radiology and...

After Surgical Mix-Up, 18 Fear Rare Brain Disease

NC hospital failed to properly sterilize tools

(Newser) - Some 18 neurosurgical patients in North Carolina have been given the terrifying news that they may have been exposed to a rare and fatal brain disease because of a surgical mix-up. A patient with suspected Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease —a condition similar to "mad cow" disease—was operated on at...

When Hospitals Botch Things, They Profit: Study

Preventable mistakes in surgery earn $30K more

(Newser) - Hospitals are literally profiting from their own mistakes. A new study of 12 hospitals found they made an average of $30,500 more when a patient had preventable surgical complications, because insurers pay for the longer stays and extra care that ensue, the New York Times reports. The researchers emphasize...

Surgeons Leave Objects in Patients 6K Times a Year

USA Today investigation finds that it happens a dozen times a day

(Newser) - Leaving sponges and other objects in patients after surgery is supposed to never happen—but it does, with surprising frequency. More than a dozen objects are mistakenly left inside surgical patients every day in America, or around 4,500 to 6,000 times a year, reports USA Today . That's...

NYC Toddler Dies After Circumcision

Jamaal Coleson Jr.'s family demand answers

(Newser) - A toddler died a month shy of his second birthday after a routine circumcision at a Manhattan hospital. Jamaal Coleson Jr.'s uncle accuses Beth Israel Medical Center of botching the operation by giving the boy a general analgesic instead of a local one. Jamaal, who died 10 hours...

Blundering Surgeon Lops Off Patient's Testicle

Routine op goes awry for doc fond of sedatives

(Newser) - Men everywhere will be glad to hear that a blundering surgeon who cut off a man's entire testicle when he was supposed to be removing a cyst is likely to lose his license. Nurses told a hearing in England that Dr. Sulieman Al Hourani appeared "rather surprised" as he...

Grossest Things Pulled From the Human Body

How about a 10-pound hairball?

(Newser) - Humanity pulls appalling stunts so routinely they're the norm, but some things are truly disturbing. Cracked runs down a list of the seven most terrifying things to ever be pulled from a human body:
  • A hairball: Surgeons pulled a 10-pound, foot-long one out of 18-year-old woman in Chicago in 2007.
...

Surgery Checklist Saves Lives ... and Maybe $25B

Strategy employed by flight crews means 33% fewer complications for hospitals

(Newser) - It sounds like a no-brainer, but surgical teams who use a simple checklist similar to those employed by flight crews reduced deaths and complications by a stunning 33%, according to an international study. If every US hospital used the checklist, health care costs for treating avoidable complications could be cut...

9 Stories
Most Read on Newser