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Wrong-site Surgery Overview (Part A)

Wrong-site surgery is an uncommon form of medical malpractice that occurs when a surgical procedure is conducted on the incorrect area of your body. All types of surgery require competent medical attention; however, wrong-site surgery is usually the result of negligence on the part of a medical facility or its staff.

Some of the common reasons for wrong-site surgery include:

• medical files confusion;
• haste that causes the wrong location to be marked;
• poor communication; and
• failure to follow pre-op procedures.

Hospitals are usually required to follow certain protocols regarding surgery, which include details about the surgery site. If you have sustained injuries due to wrong-site surgery in Illinois, you should consult a Chicago medical malpractice attorney to discuss filing a medical malpractice claim.

Pre-Surgery Procedures

Medical professionals such as doctors, nurses and their surgerical assistants are required to adhere to some form of pre-surgery regulations. These regulations are in place to ensure the safety of an operation and serve as standard precautions to avoid harmful surgical mistakes. However, they can vary depending on a hospital's requirement.

Some of the necessary pre-surgery steps all medical professionals should take to avoid wrong-site surgery include:

• Verification - This is where all the medical personnel that will be conducting the surgery meet as a group to confirm the type of surgical procedure, the correct patient and the site of the surgery.
• Marking the site - The exact site for the surgery is pre-marked by one of the medical staff. This individual should be present during the operation.
• Calling a time out - This is a repetition of the verification step, which is done to eliminate all possibilities for errors. This is done right before any incision is made and is initiated by a designated staff member.

In the majority of cases, surgical errors result when doctors neglect the "time out" step. Continue reading to know more about liability issues in wrong-site surgery cases and how you may be able to get compensation for the injuries you've sustained as a result of medical negligence.

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