Foreign Objects Left in Body After Surgery

In an article published in July, 2008, the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) reported sponges, needles or surgical instruments are left in a patient's body an estimated 1 in every 7,000 surgeries which could be the basis for a surgical malpractice or medical malpractice case. These are called "foreign object" or "retained instrument" cases.

Instruments are counted by nurses before an operation commences and after the operation has been performed prior to closure of the incision. However, the AHRQ notes staff fatigue, changing teams and interruptions can prevent an accurate count.

The AHRQ calculated there is a 1.6 percent chance of an instrument being left in a patient. This estimation was based on the low number of reported cases where an instrument was left in the patient versus the odds increasing 113-fold that a foreign object was retained in the patient when the final account was contradictory.

The AHRQ goes on to say that physicians must make a choice whether it is beneficial to delay closure of the operation site, increasing the patient's risk of infection, or conduct further tests or searches for the missing object based on the 1.6 percent chance it is in the patient's body. It notes that doing additional searches increases the costs of surgery.

Surgery involves use of multiple instruments and supplies. A partial list of items which might be left in a patient's body are:

Often, these patients require an additional surgical operation to remove sponges or surgical instruments.

Surgical instruments left inside the body have the potential to cause internal bleeding by puncture of organs or blood vessels. Sponges and gauze may fester inside the body leading to serious infections.

Sometimes it is many months or even years before pain or ill health makes it evident a surgical error happened. Risk factors for retention of surgical instruments in a patient's body increases with emergency surgery, an unanticipated change during the operation and a large patient.

Patients who experience surgical instruments left in their body may undergo pain, possible further surgery, serious health consequences and incur expenses in what might be a long process to remove the object and recover their health. On the other hand, some patients do not notice the retained instrument unless or until they have an x-ray for some unrelated medical issue, only to find that a retained instrument exists.

At our experienced injury law firm, we only consider handling medical malpractice cases that involve serious injury and death.  If a retained did not cause you any significant harms and losses, then a malpractice claim may not be the right option for you.

If, however, you were seriously injured and suffered significant loss and pain as the result of a retained instrument, then contact an experienced injury attorney at our firm who handles medical malpractice claims.

Because Florida has strict time limits for bringing a medical malpractice lawsuit, do not delay in contacting us for a confidential and honest assessment of your retained instrument medical malpractice claim.