Double check before surgery.
Gee, what a revolutionary innovation. What will they think of next?
My wife recently had knee surgery. When she came home I found "YES" written in ink in the leg that was to be operated on. I got some mileage outta that ubetcha.
I know when I had my left hand operated on for infection last year, before the operation, I do remember the surgeon marking an "X" on my left wrist, I asked him why as I was wheeled into the OR and he told me, "to make sure I operate on the correct hand." I figure, well, if it helps.... B-)
Add a little dyslexia and mirror image problems to the arrogance of a surgeon and it's a miracle they ever get it right.
So9
When I had a bone spur removed and tendon damage repaired in my shoulder, they did a pre-op check in.
The nurse briefing us said what they were going to do to my left shoulder. I said, "NO, my RIGHT shoulder." She looked at me and looked at her papers and said, "No, your left shoulder." I said, "I'm going home, I'm not wearing this sling on the right for nothing!" She was finally convinced and changed a bunch of papers. We went out to wait for an hour for the operating room to be free.
They finally came and got me and they walked me into the OR. They were very obviously setting the operating table up to operate on my left shoulder. I stopped cold and announced, in a loud voice, "Attention everyone!" When everyone had turned and looked at me, I said, "This surgery is on my RIGHT shoulder, NOT my left!" A couple of them scrambled for papers and looked at me, the papers and then back at me, whispering the whole time. They then moved an extension from the left side of the table to the right.
A couple of years later when the same hospital operated on my foot, I made the pre-op people write "WRONG FOOT" on the other foot.
Sheesh!
I mark many of my patients slated for surgery with a sharpie in the ears. Yup, it can happen to veterinarians too.
I believe that one reason for wrong-side surgeries is that ex-rays can get flipped. I believe that x-rays are often marked for right or left these days so that that is less likely to happen. Perhaps medical personnel on this thread would like to confirm or disconfirm this.
When I got my hernia fixed, they kept me awake long enough to tell the OR team why I was on the table...then it was 'sleepy time...'
My best friend had a breast reduction done 5 years ago. She had to be marked before the surgery while she was standng up. (We all know how things can change when we lay down ;-) )
She was also photographed & got to keep one of them which she snuck into a pile of vacation photos. Blew alot of our minds when you're expecting scenery and you get the map of where the nipples are going to be place. I never knew it before her surgery, but the doctor actually cuts all around the nipples, slits the breast tissue and just moves them up and sews them in place.
You could write the name of your operation on the relevant body part in permanent magic marker...