Invasive surgical procedures can cause patients to experience long and difficult recoveries, even when their procedures are performed without incident. Across Oregon, patients undergo different surgeries each and every day to improve the quality of their lives. In some situations, though, patients find themselves in worse conditions after their surgeries than what they were in before going under the knife.
Surgical mistakes – a catch-all term for the errors that doctors and medical professionals commit during surgical procedures – can happen in a variety of forms. Many surgical mistakes, however, can be prevented through common sense pre-operative preparations. This post offers no legal or medical advice and provides readers with information on general standards that may protect the health and safety of surgical patients.
Examples of pre-operative preparations
Before a patient’s surgery begins, they should have extensive and clear communications with their medical team about what procedure they will undergo. One medical entity advocates for the adoption of a universal protocol that all surgical professionals use to prevent costly and painful surgical errors. Inclusions in the universal protocol include, but are not limited to:
- A pre-surgical verification process that identifies the patient, their procedure, and the location that their procedure will be performed.
- Physically marking the surgical site on the patient’s body so that it may be identified when they are under anesthesia.
- Stopping the surgical procedure before it begins to verify information on the patient, their procedure, and other details.
Steps taken before a surgery begins can help prevent patients from enduring the trauma of medical procedures that do not serve their needs.
The consequences of surgical mistakes
Surgical mistakes are not victimless events. Patients who suffer them can find that they have been permanently altered due to the errors of negligent medical professionals. For some victims, further surgeries may be necessary not only to fix the errors committed by their doctors, but also to treat the underlying conditions for which their original botched surgeries were performed.
Surgical errors are costly and painful. Victims do not have to face their troubles on their own. Personal injury attorneys in Lake Oswego can help them understand and advocate for their rights.