New-York tribune., 1908-02-16
LEFT SAFETY
PINS INSIDE HIM.
.gT-RGEON OR HIS ASSIST
INT FORGOT THEM :.
DesDiie Precautions Similar Mis-
takes 4re Made IN Mony
ODcTotions.

rish miner OF Red Lodge Mont. recently
learned that such things are sometimes found
N the body. for they We're taken from his own
Fe does not believe that he was born with these
objects in his pleural cavity, but is convinced
that the surgeon who operated on him in a New
York hospital soon after his arrival in this
country left them there by mistake
Il probably more Of e surprise TO the
young Finlander TO find himself the custodian
ot these foreign bodies" as medical men style
them. than it was TO the surgeon who extracted
them. Accidents viii happen in the best regu-
lated OF operations Foreign bodies such as
forceps, spOnges, towels and gauze pads are
more frequently left in the human body after
operations than the public is aware Of To be
sure the number Of operations in which this
happens is small II occurs perhaps once or
twice in the course OF two thousand operations
Like an eruption OF Vesuvius, however it is
likely ct any time and has marked the opera
tio-s OF some OF the best known surgeons of
This city They say il may occur again not
wiIhstanding the number OF schemes which have
been devised TO prevent il.
No one knows the number OF these mishaps
rs only in relatively few cases is death fol-
lowed by autopsy The announcement that
.the operation was a success but the patient
died" may cover multitude of sins of ornis-
sion and commission. so far any one can tell.
one may find in the files of the Annals of Sur
gerry the reports Of between 150 and 200 cases
IN which objects used in operations have been
left in the body These objects include tubes.
clamps. sponges, towels, forceps. scissors and
finger rings. Usually ii is a piece Of gauze OF a
sponge that is left in the wound. In 109 cases
reported from Europe 81 sponges and SO pieces
C gauze were left in wounds. In 43 cases
death resulted. In the other 60 cases the ar
ticles worked their way out after remaining in
the body for months and sometimes years. or
were discovered and removed by operations per-
e formed 10 relieve the pain caused by the move
rnents Of these objects
u one case surgeon lost his seal ring 1t
finally pushed its way TO the surface of the body
OF person on whom he had operated and
vas returned TO its owner in another a pair
a. forceps circulated about the abdominal
cavity OF q ease for four years before being
recovered. Pieces of gauze five feet long and
{ yard vide have been removed from persons
or whom operations had been performed.
FORGOTTEN DESPITE TALLY.
L seems strange TO the layTnan that anything
should be able TO escape the surgeon in such
smal cavity as Is likely to Toe created in the
bcdr in The course Of an operation. Especially
does II seem impossible that anything should
he lost n view Or the extreme care taken TO
prevent il Many surgeons have worked
methods Of procedure for operations with the
intention of eliminating the possibility of the
loss ~ anything used. Unfortunately. even these
have never proved infaIlible. The most usual
method IS 70 have everything counted by z
nu-se before the operation begins. Before the
vo--6 Is closed each article is accounted fer by
{ recount Some surgeons have mad experiences
which Jed them TO triple tie number OF per
sons rc=0onsibse for the appliances each 10
+1-er
geo-s have the gauze pads il packages of half
dozen or q dozen. Only one package is opened
sr 2 kline and lis contents must be accounted
to~ before The next is opened Tying tapes to
each Ea-ze. pad or instrument inserted in
za-u-d IS another precaUtion- prominent
Erooz~r surgeon who died recently devised =
check system similar TO that used by baggage
r-en. 4 quantity Of glass checks We're num-
bered there being Two Of each number ana 10
each sex of duplicates was attached tape 10
eve-v article used II the operation one of these
tapes with the check attached was fastened
whe-erer. for instance a piece of gauze was
1aia- from q basin for use one % the checks
rs removed and placed in the basin BEFORE
+,e v-7r-r6 was stitched each article represented
hv these detached checks had to be accounted
fc-.
No-wltL tLstandins such precautions IN Iout
recorded cases large sponges were torn III nan
while the operation was in progress ana one u
The halves rlaced in the wound and lost slghl
O. When the count was made there was the
ssr-,a number of sponges as al the beginning ol
TIE or.erarjou. The missing half was forgotleh
sn6 the wound closed
4 surgeon in describing one Of these nlsh2ps
says:
Young surgeon assisted by an oider sur
- -.--e,-v-a5 the or)eration. The older one
fo-e 2 svrnna Ia half and tucked nan OF II III IA
without saving anything about IL me - Hoii =.
6Ie5 Of shock and the sponge was Leli!p' , g
r. -,osr-r-7o~tern examination much 10 me SUI
Co. ez-,---is. as 4 count Of sponges gave lhe
nu~,har with which the operation had oFeh
begun
Another way IN which reputable surgeon"
nav be made the victim of this KIND OF an accl
dent is illustrated in this statement mace oy
su American practitioner:
have had two unfortunate experiences IN
reg - foreign hodies remaining In the an
cor1.raI cavity one occurring a leN years as"
when using The old-fashioneo sponges' the pa
tienr owing from general peTllohIiIS. Ce,, C-c
Cured abol7- three wears ago IN winch d sii644
gs-za s-,orpe was left the patient making
good recovery but a reappear2nce OF 'ne
disease. a year after, the sponge Nee .s Lo1u "a
exploration This IS an accident 10 DC ieS-o
I have Fl,Ksvs been fortunate IN reference 10
tc-cs-e 80 i77crryr-7leurs and in the first case
70 which 7 referred had trusted entlrely 10 my
assistant who assured me all tle Spohseo W.
acecurted for. After the death or uie patieht.
snd on making an autopsy, you can imagine my
sorrow and chagrin II hnoHls siH"'i sPoNs'
II the ABDOMINAL cavity.
WRONG EYE TAKEN OUT
Even when the count does not tally and 1t is
evident that something is missing the aceioeh'
which may cost q life happens