Tag Archives: surgical errors

Going under the knife is stressful enough. Having to worry about the surgeon operating on the wrong side is almost unthinkable. But it happens more than you might think – an estimated 40 times per week, according to a hospital accrediting group. In one recent example, a jury awarded a young medical student $1.4 million against the doctor who removed the wrong ovary. Nadege Neim, was pregnant when she went to her gynecologist, Dr. Maureen Muoneke, who performed an ultrasound …

At least 80,000 medical “never events” have occurred during hospital surgeries over the past two decades, according to a new study by Johns Hopkins University. A “never event” is defined as a mistake that should be preventable by basic procedural diligence, such as leaving a surgical implement inside a patient, performing the wrong procedure, operating on the wrong part of the body or even operating on the wrong patient altogether. The numbers are disturbing for anyone who has an upcoming …