The American Board of Orthopaedic Surgery requires that candidates for board certification draft a list of all cases and any surgical complications, such as wrong-site surgery. The list must also outline whether the Sign your Site/Universal Protocol was practiced in each case. The study authors accessed the ABOS database and found 9,255 orthopedic surgeons performed 1,291,396 cases from 1999 to 2010.
Of these surgeons, 61 reported performing 76 wrong-site procedures. In addition, the researchers found the rate of wrong site surgery was not significantly different before and after implementation of the Universal Protocol mandate in 2008. Other findings from this study showed spine surgeons were the most likely to report wrong-site surgery, which most commonly occurred during single-level lumbar laminotomy.
The researchers concluded additional methods may be required to prevent wrong-site spine surgery, including improved communications and accountability.
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