Wrong site surgery is avoidable with pre-op meeting

Reported by Susan Aldridge, PhD, medical journalist

There is a simple way of avoiding wrong site surgery, say doctors at Johns Hopkins.
Wrong site surgery, where the surgeon carries out an operation on a part of the body other than that intended, or even on the wrong patient, is extremely rare. One survey shows it happens in only one in every 112,994 operations. Wrong site surgery is entirely preventable and doctors at Johns Hopkins Center for Surgical Outcomes Research now report on a way of eliminating the risk.

They have developed a standardized operating room briefing that involves all members of the team identifying themselves and their role after anesthesia but before the first incision is made. The lead surgeon then identifies the intended surgical site. A survey of surgeons and other operating staff taken before and after the briefing policy was implemented showed an increase in those believing in its effectiveness. More than 90 per cent said they thought the briefing improved patient safety.

Strange as it may seem, this short briefing is new - previously, the surgeon might walk into the operating room and begin surgery without saying anything. He or she might not even have known the names of those working alongside. Under such conditions, failures of communication - the root cause of wrong site surgery - could occur. The new approach ensures that all agree where the operation should be done.

Source
Journal of the American College of Surgeons February 2007