2 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 6
M
arking the site of the surgical
incision before the induction
of anesthesia is the surest way to prevent wrong-site sur-
gery, but only if it's done — many facilities have adopted a
"no-mark, no-surgery" policy — and only if it's done prop-
erly. Surgical site marking is not a time for individual expression or to draw
cutesy symbols and squiggly lines — those marks will only confuse the surgical
team when they're confirming where to cut. Your surgeons and staff need to
agree on a standardized approach and use it to mark each and every patient.
Outpatient Surgery Magazine photographer Pamela Bevelhymer, RN, BSN,
photographed 8 examples of site marking done correctly … and some scenarios
that can cause confusion and lead to errors.
OSM
Marking the Site Right
There are lots of ways to do it wrong, but only a couple of ways to do it right.
Photo Essay by
Pamela Bevelhymer, RN, BSN
CRYSTAL CLEAR There are only a few
simple rules to follow. First, the surgeon
should use his initials (unless they're NO)
or the word YES as the surgical mark.
Second, place the mark as close as
anatomically possible to the incision site
using a single-use surgical skin marker.
Third, have the surgeon mark the site
before the patient enters the OR.