From the Patient Safety Blog: Drill bit left in patient?'s scalp prompts investigation
Patient Safety Monitor Alert
October 20, 2010
People get splinters under their skin and even fine particles of metal, but it’s not every day that a drill bit gets stuck.
During diagnostic imaging on August 6, 2010, Rhode Island Hospital staff realized a neurosurgery patient still had a surgical drill bit inside her scalp two days after surgery.
The physician and operating room staff were suspended after the event, and the Rhode Island Department of Health has opened up an investigation, reports WRPI.
This isn’t the first incident that has been investigated within Rhode Island Hospital. In October, 2009, a doctor performed surgery on the wrong finger of a patient, reports WRPI. After that incident—the fifth in two years—video cameras were installed in operating rooms.
