It was first of its type situation. They had sent a patient for an emergency cesarean section to the emergency OT. The emergency team oprated and when they were about to close the abdomen, the scrub nurse declared -
"The string loop on one of the surgical mops is missing."
"I think it was not there when I took the mob" declared the House Officer who had operated on that patient.
"I think it was there" the nurse said.
So they searched the whole of the pelvis and abdomen, but could not find it. The Assistant Professor assisting the House Officer was sure it was not there. They called me for advice.
"I could come to the OT and check myself" I said. "But I cannot do better than the Assistant Professor. Get the general surgeon emergency duty to check between the bowel loops and mesentery."
"Sir, the surgeon told us on phone that it was lost by us and he had nothing to do with it and he would not come to have a look" my Registrar reported.
"OK. Write a call to him and request him to write that on the call. Then if the case goes to a court, he will be found negligent in performance of his duty."
They sent the call, and he wrote that on the call. But some time later, he turned up to the OT and checked the abdomen for the missing loop of string. He could not find it."
"Why did he come when he had refused initially" someone asked me.
"I think he did not want involvement because he would be dragged into a medicolegal case for no fault of his" I said. "That was unavoidable. But he would not be found negligent, because the negligence would be that of the operating surgeon. He must have spoken to his boss, who must have realized that a refusal to give surgical assistance in checking a field that belonged to the surgeons would make him guilty of negligence. He would never have come if we had not asked him to document his refusal, because in that case it would have been his word against ours. He could always claim he had never been called."
"It was a difficult situation."
"I was indeed. It takes diplomatic maneuvering to get such people to cooperate" I said.
"The string loop on one of the surgical mops is missing."
"I think it was not there when I took the mob" declared the House Officer who had operated on that patient.
"I think it was there" the nurse said.
So they searched the whole of the pelvis and abdomen, but could not find it. The Assistant Professor assisting the House Officer was sure it was not there. They called me for advice.
"I could come to the OT and check myself" I said. "But I cannot do better than the Assistant Professor. Get the general surgeon emergency duty to check between the bowel loops and mesentery."
"Sir, the surgeon told us on phone that it was lost by us and he had nothing to do with it and he would not come to have a look" my Registrar reported.
"OK. Write a call to him and request him to write that on the call. Then if the case goes to a court, he will be found negligent in performance of his duty."
They sent the call, and he wrote that on the call. But some time later, he turned up to the OT and checked the abdomen for the missing loop of string. He could not find it."
"Why did he come when he had refused initially" someone asked me.
"I think he did not want involvement because he would be dragged into a medicolegal case for no fault of his" I said. "That was unavoidable. But he would not be found negligent, because the negligence would be that of the operating surgeon. He must have spoken to his boss, who must have realized that a refusal to give surgical assistance in checking a field that belonged to the surgeons would make him guilty of negligence. He would never have come if we had not asked him to document his refusal, because in that case it would have been his word against ours. He could always claim he had never been called."
"It was a difficult situation."
"I was indeed. It takes diplomatic maneuvering to get such people to cooperate" I said.
