From heart surgeries to liposuction to the simple eye laser surgery; Medical procedures have become a regular task for the American population. A majority of people today, however, do not know that surgery mistakes are a leading cause of death in the United States.



According to an article written by the law firm of Steigerwalt & Associates, over 18,000 people a year report having a surgical mistake during their procedures.



“They have to be more careful,” said Maia Szulik, an upper, day camper at the Duke Young Writers Camp. However, it does not seem likely that this can be done with the mistakes that have been happening recently in hospitals.



A very common accident that is rarely recognized by the public is when an instrument used in surgery is left behind in the body of the patient. About 80 times a year, gauze, a scalpel, or a medical tool is left inside a patient in the Southern Pennsylvania area, says an article written in the Philadelphia Inquirer in 2004. This happens about once a year per hospital.



Donald Gable, a patient having recently received heart surgery, spent nearly six weeks after the surgery with strong abdominal pains before the doctors finally discovered they had left a two foot long guide wire behind in his body.



“I was flabbergasted. That thing could have penetrated my vein, and I could have bled to death,” said Gable.



A very common surgery that also has regular accidents occur is eye laser surgery. In an article written by the firm of Steigerwalt & Associates, it is said that during the year of 2005, 50,000 out of the 1 million people that had gone through this surgery either had vision problems much later or even loss of their sight.



Another common procedure that is sweeping the nation is liposuction, a beauty procedure used to dispose of excess fat around the stomach and thighs. This surgery, however, is much more dangerous than celebrities make it appear. According to an article written on MedicineNet.com, there were 48,527 liposuction related deaths reported to the Office of Chief Medical Examiner of the City of New York from the years 1993 to 1998.



One patient, Tammaria Cotton, 43, died after excessive fluid collected in her lungs due to the anesthesia partway through the surgery.

“She told me that she wanted me to take pictures of her because this would be the last time that we would see her like that,” said her husband, Jimmy Cotton.



Believe it or not, this is not the only problem caused by the procedure. Lidocaine, a product used in the anesthesia, is also a product used to lower rapid growing heart rates in emergency situations. During these liposuction procedures, there have been several deaths related to dropping heart rates.



“People getting liposuction should know the risk and understand that sometimes anesthesiologists make mistakes. Getting cosmetic surgery is a decision that should not be made lightly and the client should be held liable for making that decision,” said Monique Kreisman, an upper residential camper at DYWC.

Gastric Bypass surgery, a procedure used to slow the eating habits of obese patients, is a fairly dangerous procedure as well. According to an article written by the law firm of Steigerwalt & Associates, 25% of those that have undergone Gastric Bypass surgery have had complications later on. In fact, the death rate for this procedure is 2%.

Along with these complications, it is also very common for a person to be given a surgery they do not need, or even the wrong surgery all together. According to the firm of Steigerwalt & Associates, 60 to 70 cases are reported each year that an operation has taken place in the wrong part of the body, for example amputating an incorrect limb or doing a brain procedure on the wrong side of the brain.

Not only are procedures in hospitals fairly unsafe, but the waiting rooms are dangerous also. On June 18th, Esmin Green, 49, waited in a New York hospital for treatment; however, she was never helped. After sitting in the room for nearly 24 hours, she collapsed and was left on the floor for nearly an hour while staff walked by, completely ignoring her. By the time help was summoned, she was pronounced dead.

The New York City Health and Hospitals Corporation, which oversees the hospital, released a statement saying they are “shocked and distressed by this situation. It is clear that some of our employees failed to act based on our compassionate standards of care.”

Though the stakes are high for a person to undergo a procedure at a hospital, many are willing to take the risk to get their procedures done. “I would still get the surgery done because if the problem is serious enough to require surgery, then it’s worth the small risk of mistakes,” said Beth Ransom, an upper residential camper at DYWC.