A medical error has come to light at Ichinomiya Municipal Hospital in Aichi Prefecture, where surgeons operated on the leg that wasn’t broken and implanted an artificial bone in it. The mix-up was discovered during a post-operative X-ray, and the hospital settled by paying 5.5 million yen in damages. On 5ch, alongside shocked reactions like “how does a mistake like that even happen,” many users shared their own habits of marking the correct leg before surgery and personal stories of left-right mix-ups, while others questioned why no measures exist to prevent this from happening again.
Published 8/26 (Wed) 5:27 PM
CBC Television
Ichinomiya Municipal Hospital in Aichi Prefecture operated on the wrong leg, and has agreed to settle by paying 5.5 million yen in damages.
Source: news.yahoo.co.jp / Original article here
It's Ichinomiya City for you, lol
Man, what a mistake…
Artificial bone in both legs now — rehab's gonna be brutal, isn't it?
How does a mistake like that even happen?
>>4
When I went to the JSDF Central Hospital, they casually mixed up left and right on my X-ray too.
When I went to the JSDF Central Hospital, they casually mixed up left and right on my X-ray too.
Do people in their 80s even need surgery like that in the first place?
>>11
Apparently if they don't, there's a real risk of ending up bedridden.
Apparently if they don't, there's a real risk of ending up bedridden.
(´・ω・｀) They should really mark the leg with a circle or an X in marker before surgery.
>>33
They actually do that already.
They actually do that already.
It says they mixed up the words 'right' and 'left' on the chart — guess nobody actually checked the imaging.
>>34
Unbelievable… even that old 'Turn the Indian to the right' mistranslation meme (a famous Windows dialog-box translation blunder) at least got 'right' correct.
Unbelievable… even that old 'Turn the Indian to the right' mistranslation meme (a famous Windows dialog-box translation blunder) at least got 'right' correct.
Honestly, kind of a free tune-up, no? Like straight-up cyberpsychosis (the Cyberpunk term for going haywire from too many implants).
>>69
'Femoral neck fracture.' Both legs now — will she even be able to walk again?
'Femoral neck fracture.' Both legs now — will she even be able to walk again?
This kind of thing happens on a regular basis — why is there still no system to prevent it?
>>89
The doctor in charge just got it backwards lol
And went ahead with the surgery anyway lol
Fully convinced his own mistake was the truth the whole time lol
The doctor in charge just got it backwards lol
And went ahead with the surgery anyway lol
Fully convinced his own mistake was the truth the whole time lol
>>89
Looking from the feet, it's the right
Looking from the pillow side, it's the left
Looking from the side, it's… whichever's closer
Looking from the feet, it's the right
Looking from the pillow side, it's the left
Looking from the side, it's… whichever's closer
This is rough. This doctor's on the same level as a dentist — and with dentists, whatever they do to you, you just have to eat it.
>>96
Barbershops too, honestly.
Barbershops too, honestly.
For elderly people, if you break a bone and have surgery, you need rehab or you won't walk again. In this case she'll need the surgery redone on top of it — 5.5 million yen feels way too cheap as compensation.
>>120
Read >>1, lol
It's already a done deal lol
Read >>1, lol
It's already a done deal lol
Normally, a hospital holds onto every piece of evidence from a medical accident. So they could've just quietly redone the surgery in secret and no one would ever know. The fact that this hospital had the integrity not to take that route… honestly, that's moving.
>>139
If the fracture site had gone necrotic, worst case they'd have had to amputate the whole leg — that would've given it away eventually. Actually, the tech who took the post-op X-ray must've been the most shaken. You take the pre-op X-ray, confirm the fracture, then take the post-op X-ray and there's an artificial femoral head sitting in the opposite leg.
If the fracture site had gone necrotic, worst case they'd have had to amputate the whole leg — that would've given it away eventually. Actually, the tech who took the post-op X-ray must've been the most shaken. You take the pre-op X-ray, confirm the fracture, then take the post-op X-ray and there's an artificial femoral head sitting in the opposite leg.
A femoral neck fracture is when the 'neck' at the top of the thighbone breaks and shifts, cutting off blood flow, which makes natural healing basically impossible — that's why they do a hip hemiarthroplasty (artificial femoral head replacement).
So… was the doctor drinking on the job or something?
So… was the doctor drinking on the job or something?
>>151
Both legs looked kind of worn out to the naked eye anyway lol
Let's just go with that story lol
Both legs looked kind of worn out to the naked eye anyway lol
Let's just go with that story lol
Basically like they gave her a free implant on the other leg too. Lucky her.
>>170
Big bones are important organs. An artificial bone loses that function entirely. The downsides massively outweigh any so-called benefit.
Big bones are important organs. An artificial bone loses that function entirely. The downsides massively outweigh any so-called benefit.
The other day, a lady in her 70s from my neighborhood fell off a roughly 40cm-high stool while reaching for something on a shelf. Just from that one fall she apparently broke her right femur and an arm bone, and her daughter was really down about the chance she'd end up bedridden for good… You hear about elderly people's health collapsing all at once after a fracture like this constantly, so the grandma in >>1 really got dealt a rough hand…
>>173
Why even use a stool for something out of reach… I really don't want to get that careless when I'm old.
Why even use a stool for something out of reach… I really don't want to get that careless when I'm old.
A broken femur in an elderly person can be directly life-threatening, so surgery is necessary even if the patient ends up bedridden regardless.
>>192
Oh, so she's bedridden either way? I assumed the surgery was so she could walk again.
Oh, so she's bedridden either way? I assumed the surgery was so she could walk again.
Probably a hospital where the nurses, techs, and doctors just don't communicate.
Nurse: 'Um, doctor, that's the wrong side—'
Doctor: 'Never mind, just be quiet.'
Something like that, probably.
Nurse: 'Um, doctor, that's the wrong side—'
Doctor: 'Never mind, just be quiet.'
Something like that, probably.
>>204
In my case, the radiology tech was on the phone furiously protesting, explaining why the scan couldn't be done — but the doctor forced it through anyway, and I got put into the MRI with a metal halo vest still bolted to my head. I passed out three seconds in and they had to stop the scan. The doctor faced zero consequences. That's when I saw what the medical profession is really like.
In my case, the radiology tech was on the phone furiously protesting, explaining why the scan couldn't be done — but the doctor forced it through anyway, and I got put into the MRI with a metal halo vest still bolted to my head. I passed out three seconds in and they had to stop the scan. The doctor faced zero consequences. That's when I saw what the medical profession is really like.
This probably isn't a rise in medical errors — it's just that they're easier to catch now.
I woke up from anesthesia once too, and my left arm had turned into a hand cannon lol
>>206
Dyne… you're still alive?
Dyne… you're still alive?
Can't they just visually confirm before swapping the bone in?
>>223
They can — and they do. Depending on how the bone broke, they remove the section that's lost blood flow, shape the cut surface at the fracture site, insert the artificial femoral head, and fuse it to the patient's own bone.
So they do check the fracture site — just after it's already been removed.
They can — and they do. Depending on how the bone broke, they remove the section that's lost blood flow, shape the cut surface at the fracture site, insert the artificial femoral head, and fuse it to the patient's own bone.
So they do check the fracture site — just after it's already been removed.
*This article is compiled and summarized from excerpts of the 5ch (Breaking News Plus) thread “[Left/Right] Wrong Leg Operated On… Medical Error Implants ‘Artificial Bone’ in Non-Fractured Leg, Discovered via Post-Op X-ray, Ichinomiya Municipal Hospital, Aichi.”
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