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Tools Left in the Body After Surgery

When you are facing surgery, you have multiple things to worry about without having to concern yourself with surgical errors. Sadly, though, surgical errors are much more prevalent than many would like to believe. In fact, one study by the Institute of Medicine found that medical errors cause 45,000-98,000 deaths each year.

One dangerous mistake is leaving tools in the body after surgery. Retained instruments can cause many health problems following the surgery, and sometimes it can be difficult to ascertain the true cause of the patient’s symptoms. If you have suffered from a surgical error such as a retained instrument, you should not hesitate to contact a Baltimore medical malpractice attorney from Belsky, Weinberg & Horowitz, LLC today at 410-234-0100.

Risks for Retained Instruments

Surgeons and surgical room nurses can easily prevent tools left in the patient’s body after surgery. With a simple count of instruments before and after surgery, this grievous mistake can easily be prevented. However, doctors blame problems such as exhaustion and inexperience as the causes of retained instruments. As a patient, things that can increase your chance of retained instruments include:

Being overweight or obese
Undergoing emergency surgery
Having an unplanned change in your surgical procedure

When doctors leave tools in your body, they can cause further damage that may require more surgery. Knives, scalpels, needles, and clamps can cause pain and internal tissue damage. Sponges and clothes can result in infections, and the items themselves are difficult to find as they are not easily detected on x-rays.

Contact Us

If you retain an instrument after surgery, this can cause pain and suffering as well as lost wages and high medical bills as you try to recover. However, you may be eligible for financial compensation to help you with these damages. To learn more about your legal options following a surgical error, contact an experienced Baltimore surgical error lawyer from Belsky, Weinberg & Horowitz, LLC, at 410-234-0100 today.

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