Anyone who has faced or has been around a family member about to undergo a surgical procedure knows the anxiety the patient and the family may feel. Patients and their families expect that the surgeon has experience with the procedure, and operating room staff is well-rested and will not lose concentration or be distracted...

Advances in modern medicine and surgical techniques have enabled doctors to treat various life-threatening health conditions and diseases, as well as perform incredible tissue and organ transplants that can prolong the life of patients. Despite all the advances, medical and surgical errors still occur during treatment or surgical procedures putting the very patients...

Visiting a dentist is not fun for adults, let alone children, but at some point all of us use the services of dentists for routine cleanings, treatments or even surgical extraction of teeth. Most of us do not consider dental sedation to be a dangerous practice, since it is a routine practice. Sedation may be...

This week, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is holding a webinar focused on a surprisingly persistent issue: surgical fires. While fires during surgery may seem like an abnormal occurrence, somewhere between 550 and 650 of these fires occur every year. Surgical fires are often caused by the high concentrations of oxygen present...

It is not surprising that a medical malpractice story involving a penis amputation has hit the media. However, let's consider that this is a real story about a man who may have been the victim of surgery malpractice, and not just a sensational news story. Amputations are rare during surgery, yet when a surgery...

Unfortunately, it is not uncommon for a surgeon to leave a medical sponge behind during surgery. While surgeons and nurses try to keep track of the number of sponges and gauzes they put in a patient, there is large room for error. Sometimes, surgical teams will realize that a sponge is missing and keep a...