Surgical Errors Rare but Serious in Ophthalmic Procedures

Surgical confusions-for instance, operations involving the wrong site, the wrong patient, or the wrong procedure- occur infrequently in eye surgery procedures, according to a report in the November issue of Archives of Ophthalmology, one of the JAMA/Archives journals. Although most surgical confusions cause little or no permanent injury, they may involve serious consequences for the patient, physician, and profession, yet could often be prevented.

"Surgical confusions (i.e., wrong patient, wrong site, wrong procedure) are an increasingly recognized cause of morbidity, recently representing the most common category of reportable medical error," the authors write as background information in the article. "In July 2004, the...