7 4 S U P P L E M E N T T O O U T P A T I E N T S U R G E R Y M A G A Z I N E O C T O B E R 2 0 1 5
M
uch of the
discussion
about pre-
venting
retained sur-
gical items focuses on communi-
cation issues between surgeons
and nurses: Surgeons refuse to
listen when nurses say the count
is off, and nurses are too intimi-
dated to forcefully speak up. Lack
of communication can be an
issue, but when it comes to surgi-
cal item retention, it's rarely the
biggest problem.
In the vast majority of retained-
sponge cases, nurses believe
they've counted correctly, and
surgeons have likely performed a
sweep of the wound to make sure
Accounting, not
counting, will ensure
no sponges are left
behind.
Verna C. Gibbs, MD
San Francisco, Calif.
A Better Way to Eliminate
Retained Surgical Items
z KICK THE HABIT Systems that involve
counting used sponges are unnecessarily
challenging in a complex environment.
Pamela
Bevelhymer,
RN,
BSN
