Scary though of the day: Surgeons leave something – mostly sponges — inside 1,500 patients each year.
That’s why at least one hospital said this week it would start using surgical sponges with bar codes so the items can be scanned and kept track of during and after surgery. Loyola University Medical Center said last week it is the first center in the Midwest to utilize a new technology that is helping its surgical teams keep track of all sponges used during a surgical procedure. Why? About two-thirds of the surgical objects left behind are sponges, which can lead to pain, infection, bowel obstructions, problems in healing, longer hospital stays, additional surgeries and in rare cases, death.
The hospital said the technology is very familiar to anyone who has ever used a grocery checkout system. Each sponge has a unique bar code affixed to it that is scanned by a high-tech device to obtain a count. Before a procedure begins, the identification number of the patient and the badge of the surgical team member maintaining the count are scanned into the counter. As an added safety feature, the bar code is heat sealed into the sponge to eliminate any danger of it becoming detached during a procedure. The counter has a color screen that keeps a running count of the sponges used. It provides visual and audio cues when a sponge is scanned in, scanned out and if one is missing or is being counted twice. Because each bar code is unique, the system will not allow a sponge to be accidentally counted twice. Surgical sponges, made of lightweight gauze, are used to soak up blood and protect organs.
Operations such as heart surgeries and organ transplants can use several hundred sponges. And once soaked in blood, a sponge can blend in and easily be missed, according to an article in the Chicago Sun Times. The system, which is FDA approved, is being used in all of Loyola’s operating rooms.
As the technology grows, Loyola plans to use it to keep track of all medical equipment used during a procedure.
