Surgical errors, such as incisions mistakes, occur more often than they should. While some mistakes are fixed before patients wake up from surgery (sometimes never finding out about the error), other cuts made in the wrong locations can cause patients further harm.
The Adverse Effects of Wrong Incisions
Although some surgical errors don’t end up causing patients harm, some patients who endure incisions made in wrong locations end up suffering serious and even life-threatening effects of medical negligence. Whether a doctor’s hand slipped and cut a nearby organ or a surgeon operated on the wrong body part, incorrect incisions can cause patients the following adverse effects:
- Additional surgeries
- Removal of wrong limbs
- Partial loss of intestines
- Loss of reproductive organs
- Other internal organ damage
- Bowel injuries
- Cosmetic surgery deformities
- Permanent scarring
- Nerve damage
- Paralysis
- Brain damage
Understanding How Incorrect Incisions Occur
Wrong incisions generally occur during surgery because surgeons fail to follow protocol. Maybe a surgeon was running late or worked too many hours prior to performing surgery and failed to review a patient’s chart or mark the correct surgical site on the patient’s skin. For any surgery where there are multiple locations for the procedure, a doctor should mark the spot on the skin prior to the operation to confirm the surgery will take place at that correct site. Unfortunately, many surgeons skip this step and fail to talk with their surgical team prior to surgery.
On the other hand, sometimes a doctor and surgical team may do everything right prior to surgery but a surgeon may make an inadvertent cut or accidentally puncture nearby organs or tissues during a procedure. Unfortunately, these errors can require additional surgeries and treatments as well as life-long consequences.
If you suffered the adverse effects of a wrong incision, accidental puncture, or wrong-site surgery, you should be compensated fairly for your injuries. It is important that you get your questions answered, learn how medical malpractice law works, and find out about your rights. You can find much of this information by reading our complimentary book, What You Need to Know Before Pursuing a Medical Malpractice Case. We also welcome your phone call.