Avoidable surgical errors are one of the most common types of medical malpractice that result in lawsuits. Common mistakes include retained surgical instruments – or in other words, items inadvertently left in the patient’s body after the surgery (for example, sponges, gauze, needles or even scalpels or scissors). Another common surgical error is called “wrong side” surgery when a procedure is performed on the wrong body part or organ and may include amputation of a healthy limb. Other preventable surgical errors are related to infections, internal organ damage and nerve damage.