Surgery Mix-Ups Surprisingly Common

HEALTH.COM - Unthinkable errors by doctors and surgeons -- such as amputating the wrong leg or removing organs from the wrong patient -- occur more frequently than previously believed, a new study suggests.

Over a period of 6.5 years, doctors in Colorado alone operated on the wrong patient at least 25 times and on the wrong part of the body in another 107 patients, according to the study, which appears in the Archives of Surgery.

So-called wrong-patient and wrong-site procedures accounted for about 0.5 percent of all medical mistakes analyzed in the study. Although these serious errors are rare overall, the numbers seen in the study are "considerably higher" than previous estimates, researchers say.

In fact, the surgical blunders reported in the study are probably "the tip of the iceberg," says the lead researcher, Dr. Philip Stahel, M.D., a surgeon at Denver Health Medical Center. The actual number of patient and site mix-ups is likely much higher, says Stahel, describing those mistakes as "a catastrophe."

Catastrophic surgical errors are "a lot more common than the public thinks," says Dr. Martin Makary, M.D., a professor of surgery and public health at Johns Hopkins University, in Baltimore.

"Each hospital, whether they publicly admit it or not, and whether or not it's discoverable in a lawsuit, has an episode of wrong-site or wrong-patient surgery either every year or once every few years," says Makary, who wrote an editorial accompanying the study. "Almost every surgeon has seen one."

CLE ELUM, Wash. - UPDATE: Washington State Department of Transportation says I-90 at Ellensburg is back open following a major crash Saturday morning. Westbound lanes were closed for several hours Saturday. Washington State Patrol urges drivers to use caution as conditions can change quickly.

CLE ELUM, Wash. - UPDATE: Washington State Department of Transportation says I-90 at Ellensburg is back open following a major crash Saturday morning. Westbound lanes were closed for several hours Saturday. Washington State Patrol urges drivers to use caution as conditions can change quickly.

POST FALLS, Idaho - Billie Swanson has her hands full. Taking care of two boys could be a full-time job. “Kids grow in and out of stuff so quickly and it's a nice place to go and to have that option and some extra money in our pockets,” Swanson said. Swanson is taking about Trader Tots Consignment Store in Post Falls. It’s a place she’s gone to in the past to sell her kids old clothes and buy new ones. That is, until recently. “They

POST FALLS, Idaho - Billie Swanson has her hands full. Taking care of two boys could be a full-time job. “Kids grow in and out of stuff so quickly and it's a nice place to go and to have that option and some extra money in our pockets,” Swanson said. Swanson is taking about Trader Tots Consignment Store in Post Falls. It’s a place she’s gone to in the past to sell her kids old clothes and buy new ones. That is, until recently. “They

KOOTENAI COUNTY, Idaho. - The Kootenai County Sheriff’s Office arrested 47-year-old Brett K. Anderson of Post Falls, ID Thursday after he was reported to have been hitting on-coming cars with a large poles sticking out of his own vehicle in the area of N. Meyer Rd. and Hayden Ave. When deputies arrived on scene, they discovered Anderson had stolen stole several 30-40’ long pieces of irrigation pipe from a nearby farm field and was

KOOTENAI COUNTY, Idaho. - The Kootenai County Sheriff’s Office arrested 47-year-old Brett K. Anderson of Post Falls, ID Thursday after he was reported to have been hitting on-coming cars with a large poles sticking out of his own vehicle in the area of N. Meyer Rd. and Hayden Ave. When deputies arrived on scene, they discovered Anderson had stolen stole several 30-40’ long pieces of irrigation pipe from a nearby farm field and was

PULLMAN, Wash. - Pullman police have arrested a therapist and psychologist on suspicion of sexually assault a patient last month. Police say a woman reported that psychologist Dean Funabiki, PhD, sexually assault her during a therapy session in his office. Swabs were collected from the woman during a sexual assault examination, and a search warrant was obtained to collect DNA from Dr. Funabiki.

PULLMAN, Wash. - Pullman police have arrested a therapist and psychologist on suspicion of sexually assault a patient last month. Police say a woman reported that psychologist Dean Funabiki, PhD, sexually assault her during a therapy session in his office. Swabs were collected from the woman during a sexual assault examination, and a search warrant was obtained to collect DNA from Dr. Funabiki.

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) - A Rhode Island state senator has been arrested on charges of video voyeurism and extortion. State police say Republican Sen. Nicholas Kettle was arrested Friday and was being taken to their headquarters to be processed. They say they're unsure when Kettle will appear in court.

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) - A Rhode Island state senator has been arrested on charges of video voyeurism and extortion. State police say Republican Sen. Nicholas Kettle was arrested Friday and was being taken to their headquarters to be processed. They say they're unsure when Kettle will appear in court.

MOSES LAKE, Wash. - The Grant County Sheriff's Office says a woman is in the hospital after a vehicle fire Saturday morning in Moses Lake. Deputies say the fire was caused by her companion pumping gas into a garbage can inside their car. Fire crews and deputies responded to Cascade Grocery at 8034 Valley Road Northeast around 8:15 a.m.

MOSES LAKE, Wash. - The Grant County Sheriff's Office says a woman is in the hospital after a vehicle fire Saturday morning in Moses Lake. Deputies say the fire was caused by her companion pumping gas into a garbage can inside their car. Fire crews and deputies responded to Cascade Grocery at 8034 Valley Road Northeast around 8:15 a.m.