What can Happen When Surgical Equipment is Left Inside Your Body

 Posted on June 06, 2018 in Medical Malpractice

Being under anesthesia to receive surgery puts you in a vulnerable position. You have to trust your doctor and all the other healthcare professionals in the room to perform the surgery correctly and to have your best interest in mind. Usually, this is exactly what happens, and the patient makes a full recovery.

Sometimes, though, healthcare professionals make errors. One particularly dangerous type of surgical error is leaving surgical equipment inside the patient's body after surgery, which puts the patient at risk of fatal injury. Victims and in fatal cases, their loved ones, can pursue compensation related to surgical error damages through medical malpractice claims. If surgical equipment is left inside your body after surgery, you can experience one or more of the following:

You can Experience Chronic Pain

There is no other way to put it – having a foreign object in your body can be painful. Often, chronic pain after surgery is a sign that something is not right. It is normal to experience some lingering soreness or inflammation after surgery, but when pain is persistent, stinging, or shooting, the patient could have an object at the surgical site that should not be there.

You can Suffer an Infection

When a surgical sponge or cloth is left inside a patient, the patient faces an infection risk. Sponges and cloths collect bacteria that breeds, grows, and can spread through the patient's body.

You can Puncture Your Organs and Tissue

When the object left inside a patient is a pair of scissors, a scalpel, or another similar sharp object, the patient can suffer a puncture to an organ or piece of tissue. This can cause internal bleeding and damage to the critical structures within organs and tissue.

You Could Require Another Surgery to Remove the Object

In many cases, the only way to correct the problem of having a surgical object left inside your body is to go into surgery again to remove the object. This can be complex and prolong your recovery time for your original condition.

You can Die

If you do not receive prompt medical attention to have the object removed from your body, you can potentially die from the complications associated with the error. Regular communication with your doctor and other healthcare providers after surgery is an important way for you to ensure that you are recovering. If you experience pain after surgery, discuss it with your doctor.

Work with an Experienced Fox River Grove Medical Malpractice Lawyer

Surgical errors are acts of medical malpractice. When you are a victim of medical malpractice, you can pursue compensation for your related damages through a medical malpractice claim. To learn more about your rights and legal options for pursuing this type of compensation, schedule your initial legal consultation with our team of medical malpractice lawyers at Newland & Newland, LLP today. We serve clients in the Arlington Heights, Palatine, Rolling Meadows, Libertyville, Mundelein, Buffalo Grove, Schaumburg, Elk Grove, and Itasca areas.

(image courtesy of Piron Guillaume)