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Having Surgery? Don’t Let This Happen to You

by Dr. Julian Whitaker

Published 04/30/09

In Wales, a woman who underwent total knee replacement on her left knee was mistakenly given a right knee part and had to undergo a second surgery to correct the error and install the proper joint.

Surgeons may act like God, but they're only human-and like all humans, they can make mistakes. Unfortunately, a surgeon's error can prove fatal to a patient. A man in Texas who had lung cancer paid for his surgeon's mistake with his life after his healthy right lung was mistakenly removed instead of the cancerous left lung.

The American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons Bulletin contains the story of an unfortunate man in his seventies who underwent surgery on the wrong knee. The man had fallen and twisted his left knee. The orthopedist who examined him mistakenly wrote the word "right" rather than "left" in the patient's chart before recommending a course of conservative treatment. When the injured knee didn't improve, the orthopedist sent the patient for an MRI, but again specified the wrong knee. When the patient entered the hospital for arthroscopic surgery to repair the left knee, his doctor's errors followed him all the way to the operating room.

When the patient woke up to discover that the wrong knee had been operated on, he was quite angry. He switched doctors and sued for malpractice. In his legal argument, the surgeon claimed that the patient would have needed surgery on the right knee eventually anyway. But performing surgery on a patient who doesn't agree to the procedure is defined by our legal system as "battery." The surgeon lost the case.

The bottom line: Hospitals have procedures in place to prevent errors in surgery, but they're not foolproof. To protect yourself from a potentially serious surgical mistake, follow these steps:

1. First, make sure you understand your doctor's recommendations. A good doctor will be able to communicate-in language that you understand-what your problem is, what your options are, and the course of action he or she recommends. If you cannot understand his or her explanations, find a new doctor.
2. Any time surgery is recommended, get a second opinion-and not from a surgeon in the same practice. If the two doctors recommend different courses of action, consider getting a third opinion. Once you've learned all your options, make the decision that you feel offers the best possible outcome and a level of risk that you are comfortable with. Keep in mind that drugs have risks, just as surgery does.
3. If you decide to go ahead with surgery, bring someone with you to your presurgical appointment to take notes and make sure that you understand what is being proposed.
4. Prepare a living will before you go into the hospital to protect your rights and wishes. Select someone you trust to be your health care proxy while you're in the hospital, and give them a copy of your living will. In the event that you cannot make a decision for yourself (while under anesthesia, for example), your proxy can help ensure that your wishes are carried out.
5. Read the hospital consent form carefully. Do not sign it unless you agree with everything that is written on the form, including whether the surgeon will be permitted to do more extensive surgery if problems are discovered during the operation.
6. Before the operation, ask whether you can make a large "X" on the body part that is to be operated on using a magic marker. Some hospitals will have you do this as part of their procedure to prevent errors, but if your hospital does not have such a procedure in place, it is well within your right to ask.