Leaving Surgical Sponge or Other Foreign Objects In Patients
posted on February 23rd, 2009 by clintI recently ran across a study published in 2003 by The New England Journal of Medicine which found that approximately 4,000 sponges are accidentally left inside patients every year. In at least 88 percent of these cases, the medical staff had falsely recorded a correct sponge count after surgery. This means in the majority of cases a sponge is left inside a surgical patient because a nurse makes an error in counting the sponges. How hard is it to keep a written tally of the sponges used in a surgical procedure. I realize that mistakes do occur, but 4000 sponges…. each year??!!
The New England Journal study, focusing on 54 patients who filed claims for a medical malpractice claim, found that 69 percent of the foreign objects left behind after surgery were sponges and 31 percent were medical instruments. At least thirty-seven (37) of those patients required corrective surgery and one died.
The situation has become so dire that there are medical-equipment companies who have now invented sponges with RFID (radio frequency identification) tags in them to closely track their whereabouts. Boy, I can think of a better and cheaper way to prevent these medical errors - correctly count all sponges, towels, and surgical equipment before and after the procedure.
In one case that I’m handling, a woman had a surgical sponge inside her abdomen for more than two years. She kept going back to the doctor with complaints of back pain, incontinence, and stomach pain. The doctors kept telling her that this was a part of her recovery and that she may always have some minor discomfort. The problem was that her initial surgery was a hysterectomy, and this procedure does not create permanent back pain. Then my client went to see a chiropractor for her back pain. The chiropractor took an x-ray and noted a large mass. The client was referred out for a CT scan, which confirmed this mass. Finally, a radiologist determined the mass was a foreign object. By this time more than 2 years had elapsed. The sponge had actually been partly absorbed by the client’s intestines, necessitating emergency surgery to remove it.
I believe these are res ipsa cases but you probably need an expert anyway to be prudent. Note that in Tennessee, the statute of limitations is tolled until the foreign object is discovered. The statute of repose has a foreign body exception as well.