Johns Hopkins patient safety researchers have estimated that U.S. surgeons leave a foreign object inside a patient’s body 39 times a week, perform the incorrect procedure 20 times a week, and operate on the wrong part of the body 20 times a week. These “never events” have occurred 80,000 times between 1990 and 2010, and patients between the ages of 40 and 49 are most frequently affected.

According to the National Institute of Neurologic Disorders and Stroke, 10% of people around the world suffer from migraines. When medications fail to remedy these headaches, decompression surgery for long-term relief could be the answer. The procedure – which isn’t necessarily the right option for all migraine sufferers – involves using techniques to relieve pressure on pinched nerves.

A recent study compared the quality and cost of lobectomy for non-small cell lung cancer when performed by a general surgeon as compared to a cardiothoracic surgeon. The study, which spanned across a system of hospitals over a 5 year timeframe, found that the quality of care was considerably better and cost less for patients that chose cardiothoracic surgeons.

According to a new study, smoking cessation – even a year prior to undergoing coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) surgery – does not alleviate the adverse effects smoking has on saphenous veins and may lead to graft failure later on. While the study shows smoking as a considerable risk factor for vein graft failure, the exact interactions are not yet understood completely.

OR Nurse journal recently launched an iPad app version  of the print journal that is available in the iTunes App Store... How many “never events” would you estimate occur in your hospital annually? Take our Quick Poll at www.ornursejournal.com, and let us know your thoughts!

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