I suffered bowel obstruction from a sponge that was left in my body after surgery. How can these kinds of surgical errors be prevented?

During surgery, you have no choice but to trust that the medical team caring for you will do their best to protect you from harm and avoid medical mistakes. However, surgical mistakes happen. An estimated 4,000 surgical errors are made each year. Most of these mistakes involve gauze sponges that are left inside the bodies of patients after surgery.

Gauze sponges are commonly used to soak up blood and other body fluids during medical procedures. During a single surgery, dozens or even hundreds of gauze sponges may be used. If even one of these sponges is misplaced, it can cause infection, bowel obstruction, internal scarring, erosion of the abdominal wall, or even death. To prevent such injuries, each and every sponge must be accounted for.

Until recently, each sponge had to be manually counted. When hundreds of sponges are used, it was easy to lose count. In 62 percent of surgical medical malpractice cases involving objects left in the body after surgery, the object was thought to have been accounted for.

Now, many hospitals are relying on technology to keep track of sponges. Many manufacturers are making surgical sponges that are embedded with a miniature computer chip that emits a radio frequency signal. After the surgery, an operating room nurse scans the body with a special detector wand. If a sponge has been left in the patient, the wand sounds an alarm. Doctors can locate and remove the sponge before it causes injury.

Patients who suffer injuries caused by surgical errors are eligible for compensation through a Tennessee medical malpractice lawsuit. To learn whether you qualify to file a Tennessee surgery malpractice claim, please contact Greer Injury Lawyers at 888-470-9143 and ask to speak to a Memphis medical malpractice attorney.