Shocking medical mistakes and how to avoid them!

CNN's headline article right now, "10 shocking medical mistakes,"made me REALLY angry for like, 5 seconds.  Until I read it, and realized it could have been summarized in two words:

AVOID SURGERY.

Ok, there are lots of great examples of necessary surgeries- heart attacks, exploding bowels, gunshot wounds, etc.  But I also see a lot of patients having multiple surgeries for absolutely ridiculous reasons.

Plastic surgery, you say?  Nope, I'm going to lump that into the "I-wouldn't-do-it-but-at-least-you-have-a-reason" category, even if the reason is vanity.  Seriously, a lot of people have surgery because of absolutely ludicrous reasons.  (By the way, I spelled "ludacris" hoping spellcheck would help, but apparently it's so different from the real spelling it doesn't recognize the incorrect spelling at all.  In fact, I had to use thesaurus.com and look up ridiculous synonyms.)

Some of my favorite:
1. Loneliness: you get a LOT of attention in the hospital.
2. Boredom: apparently patients get ipads and satellite TV..
3. It's free: why turn down free surgery??
4. I like being in the hospital.

Here's the article, notice the overriding themes:

(CNN) -- When you're a patient, you trust you're in good hands, but even the best doctor or nurse can make a mistake on you or someone you love.

Here's a list of 10 shocking medical mistakes and ways to not become a victim:

1. Mistake: Treating the wrong patient
• Cause: Hospital staff fails to verify a patient's identity.
• Consequences: Patients with similar names are confused.
• Prevention: Before every procedure in the hospital, make sure the staff checks your entire name, date of birth and barcode on your wrist band.
• Example case: Kerry Higuera

2. Mistake: Surgical souvenirs
• Cause: Surgical staff miscounts (or fails to count) equipment used inside a patient during an operation.
• Consequences: Tools get left inside the body.
• Prevention: If you have unexpected pain, fever or swelling after surgery, ask if you might have a surgical instrument inside you.
• Example case: Nelson Bailey

3. Mistake: Lost patients
• Cause: Patients with dementia are sometimes prone to wandering.
• Consequences: Patients may become trapped while wandering and die from hypothermia or dehydration.
• Prevention: If your loved one sometimes wanders, consider a GPS tracking bracelet.
• Example case: Mary Cole

(This is probably more common on surgical services, because surgeons prefer being in the operating room to chasing dementia patients.)

4. Mistake: Fake doctors
• Cause: Con artists pretend to be doctors.
• Consequences: Medical treatments backfire. Instead of getting better, patients get sicker.
• Prevention: Confirm online that your physician is licensed.
• Example case: Sarafina Gerling

(I would prefer a fake family doctor over a fake surgeon...think potential damages.)


5. Mistake: The ER waiting game

• Cause: Emergency rooms get backed up when overcrowded hospitals don't have enough beds.
• Consequences: Patients get sicker while waiting for care.
• Prevention: Doctors listen to other doctors, so on your way to the hospital call your physician and ask them to call the emergency room.
• Example case: Malyia Jeffers

(This is probably because people with colds go to the ER. And seriously...they advise calling your doctor before going to the ER???  Maybe I'll start calling McDonalds and placing my drive-through order so it's ready when I pull up to the window.)

6. Mistake: Air bubbles in blood
• Cause: The hole in a patient's chest isn't sealed airtight after a chest tube is removed.
• Consequences: Air bubbles get sucked into the wound and cut off blood supply to the patient's lungs, heart, kidneys and brain. Left uncorrected the patient dies.
• Prevention: If you have a chest tube in you, ask how you should be positioned when the line comes out.
• Example case: Blake Fought

(Again, surgery.)

7. Mistake: Operating on the wrong body part
• Cause: A patient's chart is incorrect, or a surgeon misreads it, or surgical draping obscures marks that denote the correct side of the operation.
• Consequences: The surgeon cuts into the wrong side of a patient's body.
• Prevention: Just before surgery, make sure you reaffirm with the nurse and the surgeon the correct body part and side of your operation.
•Example case: Jesse Matlock
(My expert advice: give your surgeon a literacy test prior to surgery.  Or at least make sure (s)he can tell right from left.)

8. Mistake: Infection infestation
• Cause: Doctors and nurses don't wash their hands.
• Consequences: Patients can die from infections spread by hospital workers.
• Prevention: It may be uncomfortable to ask, but make sure doctors and nurses wash their hands before they touch you, even if they're wearing gloves.
• Example case: Josh Nahum

9. Mistake: Lookalike tubes
• Cause: A chest tube and a feeding tube can look a lot alike.
• Consequences: Medicine meant for the stomach goes into the chest.
• Prevention: When you have tubes in you, ask the staff to trace every tube back to the point of origin so the right medicine goes to the right place.
• Example case: Alicia Coleman

(Again, surgery.) 

10. Mistake: Waking up during surgery
• Cause: An under-dose of anesthesia.
• Consequences:  The brain stays awake while the muscles stay frozen. Most patients aren't in any pain but some feel every poke, prod and cut.

• Prevention: When you schedule surgery, ask your surgeon if you need to be put asleep or if a local anesthetic might work just as well.
• Example case: Erin Cook

(Wouldn't advocate for local anesthesia during major surgery.  But again, surgery.)