Removal of wrong kidney

See the usual politicians are jumping on the bandwagon of blame, reports etc for a surgeon removing the wrong kidney in some poor child.

However I thought this sort of thing would have been more common than this. I was told by a friend lately that his young daughter had the wrong ingrown toenail removed by the hospital. Do the persons performing these operations even read the file and if they do so, do they have any system that they are doublechecked.

A Doctor friend of mine told me after working 70 hours a week she really doesn't give a cr@p about the people she is treating. she just wants her bed. Most doctors I know are scarily fond of the booze too. but that's just the doctors I know. All around mid 30's in age.

Listening to doctor shop talk is disconcerting. Things like the correct way to commit suicide. A bit more compassion and a few less points in the leaving might help.

I remember the little cranky surgeon in ER who was going into the operation to get one of his arms amputated. He wrote on the other arm in magic marker 'Not this one, stupid'.

GeneralZod said:

Listening to doctor shop talk is disconcerting.

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I don't think you will keep your sanity for long if you get emotionally involved with your "customers", a good percentage who will die as you try to cure them. I think it's just a way to deal with the long hours and tough job they have.
I was initially surprised with the way my doctor friend talked about illness/people/death but when I think about what he has gone through I can understand it. I can walk away from the computer at 6pm and if my design still doesn't work, well it doesn't really matter (except to my bonus). Walking away at 9pm after seeing someone who you can't help and will die is a world of difference

I once let an apartment to a lady who was a doctor. I met her on the Saturday morning to sort out the lease and she told me she was going to work at noon and would be required to stay in the hospital until 6 pm on the Monday. She was entitled to sleep if it was quiet but she said weekends were always busy. I would not like to be driven in a taxi by someone who had been awake for more than 24 hours; I'm cranky and cannot think clearly if I don't get my eight straight hours sleep. The wrong kidney being removed is a dreadful thing to happen but I am surprised that there are not more terrible mistakes being made.

a friends father had a dislocated hip replacement, and was lying on a trolley in A&E in agony. The orthopediac doc came along, relocated the hip and as he walked away it popped out again, the nurse ran after him and said 'its back out', he replied 'it couldnt be', he came back, looked it the poor man who was by now barely conscious with pain, and turned to the family and said 'look im terribly sorry, ive had no sleep in the past 72 hours, im just tired, i need some sleep' and then proceeded to try to relocate the hip again, once again it failed, at which point the doc ordered x-rays and it was discovered the prosthetic hip was actually broken inside the body.
The family meanwhile were gobsmacked that a doctor was standing in front of them, rubbing his eyes and apologising that he was tired and needed sleep, while their father was barely conscious in pain beside them.

it was no shock to me that the wrong kidney was removed from someone - im sure mistakes like that are bound to happen if doctors are not getting any sleep.

truthseeker said:

it was no shock to me that the wrong kidney was removed from someone - im sure mistakes like that are bound to happen if doctors are not getting any sleep.

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But this mistake was made by a surgeon. These guys do not work the same long hours as junior doctors and for very good reason. There are probably 50 different reasons why something like this happens but at the end of the day, the surgeon involved has to take personal responsibility for the accident. Even though I am sure it will end up being Mary Harneys fault as well!

Its a disgrace all round really - what you say is correct, there could well be 50 different reasons.
Cases need to be double checked - especially where an organ is involved - and its not obvious from the outside of the body where the afflication is.

I cannot understand how this could happen. There are so many safety nets on the way to the the actual scalpel falling. In my nursing days, the surgeon personally marked the leg with an indellible pen the night before surgery; whilst the patient was still 'corpus mentus'. This would also be done in the company of nursing staff who would be familiar with the patient and the correct and incorrect leg/finger/nail/kidney etc. A lot of cross-checking with x-rays, scans etc should occur. This would be repeated on the ward the morning of surgery, and again in the theatre before anaesthetic. Things are so rushed nowadays, the patient can often turn up for surgery, fasting and frightened, for less than an hour before the op. Its no wonder more mistakes aren't made. Please God that unfortunate child will get a matching kidney and be able to live a relatively normal life.

ophelia said:

I cannot understand how this could happen. There are so many safety nets on the way to the the actual scalpel falling. In my nursing days, the surgeon personally marked the leg with an indellible pen the night before surgery; whilst the patient was still 'corpus mentus'. This would also be done in the company of nursing staff who would be familiar with the patient and the correct and incorrect leg/finger/nail/kidney etc. A lot of cross-checking with x-rays, scans etc should occur. This would be repeated on the ward the morning of surgery, and again in the theatre before anaesthetic. Things are so rushed nowadays, the patient can often turn up for surgery, fasting and frightened, for less than an hour before the op. Its no wonder more mistakes aren't made. Please God that unfortunate child will get a matching kidney and be able to live a relatively normal life.

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I had a surgery I stayed in overnight for and no one marked my relevant bit.

Im having a small procedure done soon, Im considering tagging the wrong side with a small note saying 'wrong one!!'

truthseeker said:

Im having a small procedure done soon, Im considering tagging the wrong side with a small note saying 'wrong one!!'

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Requires both "ones" to be far enough apart!

I am having a small op next week due to a previous operation not being done correctly.

When I went to see the surgeon at his client a few weeks ago, he stated to me that he "didn't like cleaning up someone else's mess" and was very serious about this. I was absolutely shocked. I was sorry that I didn't have the voice recorder going on my phone to show what "quality service" means nowadays in the Health Service.

My feeling leaving the clinic was that when you are on their turf, that they have absolutely no regard for the patient and feel that they can do what they want to the person sick.

Boris, that was, at best, quite a tactless thing for your surgeon to say. It's probably what a lot of surgeons would be thinking in the same circumstances but it is not his role to burden the patient with his surgical preferances. A clear description / explanation of the presenting surgical problem was all he should have had to do. We were always told that it was not the role of the physician to burden the patient, but rather, to offer hope and care. Good luck with your op, I'm sure your surgeon will do a good job.

truthseeker said:

Its a disgrace all round really - what you say is correct, there could well be 50 different reasons.
Cases need to be double checked - especially where an organ is involved - and its not obvious from the outside of the body where the afflication is.

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You hit the nail on the head.

Mrs Purple is a doctor and did the whole 36 or 48 hours without a break and you get used to it. I'm not saying that it's a good idea or that it's good for your health but they aren't falling over in the aisles.
The idea that 70 hours a week will leave you floored is rubbish as well, it's a long week but it's just a few 14 hour days and a few not so long days.