On Wrong Site Surgeries...

Surgery can be really personal. I once nearly lost my left arm to a benign cyst, because the first Orthopedic specialist didn't alert us to the dangers of repeat fractures, and another specialist wanted to amputate. My eventual surgeon in India, Dr. Daivanga Perumal decided to take a risk with the Iliac Crest replacement and I got to keep my left arm. He was able to present my X-rays at some conference or the other, and was invited to our family events and will always be welcomed and cherished by my family. My own lateral interest in medicine originated from there. Now, imagine if they had opened up my right arm instead of my left!

Wrong Site Procedures are uncommon, but when they do occur, the consequences are mostly devastating. This morning, news of a judgement reached in favor of a gentleman, who underwent an orchiectomy for the removal of his right testicle, and instead had his left testicle removed has been making the rounds. And as it should, it is creating debate everywhere. No one is comforted by statistics when confronted with issues where the healthy kidney or testicle is removed as opposed to the diseased. That this happens at all is appalling, but let us see if we can explore the issue and any possible solutions.

Honesty through anonymity?

With malpractice lawsuits hanging like a sword on their heads, surgeons and other healthcare practitioners might be tempted to embellish facts. This of course hampers the search for the truth. I would urge that information on wrong site procedures/surgeries etc. be collected anonymously. This would immensely help with root cause analyses that can afford better solutions that prevent wrong site procedures.

Don't consider the US alone

It would appear that since the number of wrong site procedures in the US is low, it is a small problems. Perhaps, it is time to look around the world. Yes, how healthcare is practiced is different across the world, but that is where practices such as stratified sampling could come into hand. And after all, it is good to solve the problem globally. Who knows, it might be possible that the root causes remain the same, and the Swiss Cheese Model by James Reason might have to be modified. Or, not. I think there is value in looking at data from multiple sources.

Taking Surgery OFF the Assembly Line

It has become common practice now to treat healthcare as an assembly line process, where the surgeons just whistle in and out of surgeries many times without making any personal connection with the patient. If you replace something like, "this male, caucasian, 34 needs an orchiectomy on testicle, right", with something like, "Dave came in last week complaining about pain in his right testicle. He is single and dating a r....", you get the picture. Whether surgeons will be willing to make this connection or will be allowed to make one like this anymore, I am not sure. It helped me. I don't see why this would be a bad thing at all.

Surgeon Fatigue and other factors

Was the surgeon tired? Did he have enough time in-between procedures? Did he get an opportunity to study the patient records ahead of time? What could have caused this, or any other surgeon to make such a mistake? These should be examined closely.

Obviating Site of the Surgery

Site marking has been repeatedly suggested. However, it is probably something to keep exploring, if we want to get to a zero defect scenario with surgical site errors.

It might be possible to better mark the correct site, especially when it comes to limbs by dressing the ones needing surgery specifically.

Would large monitors indicating the correct surgical site help?

Would a pre-surgery check explicitly stating the surgery, its purpose and the site help? We all know scans and such are reviewed, but is that enough? This surgeon who was involved in the testicle removal was not off in a shady closet with the patient, all by himself! There has been a systemic failure, so should everyone in the room be briefed?

Would special medical devices help? Like wraps, cloths, tags, other external markers and differentiators?

Should all Left-Right surgeries, where left-right anatomical parts are involved, such as eyes, kidneys, breasts, testicles, etc., have a different protocol, a different room, lighting, specialists, etc? Like how about setting all surgical equipment, oriented in the right direction? Should brighter light shine on the correct surgical side?

How would an AI Surgical Robot be error proof?

As I was thinking about this problem today, I started wondering about how the robots get prepared and used in surgery. I also started to thinking about the future where one or more AI systems come into play. Maybe, it is time to think ahead and make them more error proof from the get go!

Conclusion

Obviously, surgical site errors are avoidable, and should be avoided. It is not like we'd be okay with a plane falling off the sky every 100,000 flights. And many things had to go wrong for a wrong testicle to be removed. After all, there are really not that many people getting orchiectomies! It is time to move from a Six Sigma strategy to a Zero Defect strategy.

A Note: If you liked my blog post, consider subscribing to my regular blog updates using one of the options on the right. Feedback is always welcome.

References:

1. The Washington Post Article: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/to-your-health/wp/2017/06/18/he-underwent-surgery-to-remove-his-right-testicle-when-he-woke-up-his-left-one-was-missing/?utm_term=.7cd9902bd83e

2. AHRQ on wrong site surgeries (via WaPo): https://psnet.ahrq.gov/resources/resource/3621

3. The Joint Commission on Wrong Site Surgery (also from WaPo): http://www.centerfortransforminghealthcare.org/assets/4/6/CTH_WSS_Storyboard_final_2011.pdf

4. Image Courtesy, Pexels: https://www.pexels.com/photo/blue-care-disease-doctor-236066/