EC Orthopaedics

Research Article Volume 14 Issue 7 - 2023

Intraoperative Technical Errors in Hand Surgery Prevalence and Potential Root Causes

Abdulrahim Aljayar*

Aljayar Clinic, Orthopedics Department, Aljala Hospital, Benghazi, Libya

*Corresponding Author: Abdulrahim Aljayar, Aljayar Clinic, Orthopedics Department, Aljala Hospital, Benghazi, Libya.
Received: April 12, 2023; Published: July 04, 2023



Despite all the healthcare system's worldwide efforts to prevent medical errors, their incidence rates are still increasing, prompting the World Health Organization to describe it as an epidemic problem. Realizing that it is a thorny, sensitive topic and hard to reach a consensus on, and in spite of the scarcity of sources concerning hand surgery in particular and the reluctance of some individuals and official institutions to provide information about it, we decided to address the problem because of its importance by analyzing 245 cases that were detected in Benghazi between January 2020 and December 2021 that were discovered to have iatrogenic adverse events related to previous surgical management, where the rate of intraoperative technical errors is 39.1%, The inadequate procedures are the most prevalent 65.6%, and Lack of suitable, effective equipment is responsible for 32.4%, of these intraoperative errors, to reach the conviction that special training in hand surgery and treatment of the root causes are the best ways to reduce technical errors to a minimum.

Keywords: Iatrogenic Complications; Technical Errors; Malpractice; Patient Safety

  1. Pakis Isil., et al. “The role of legal autopsy in the investigation of death cases due to medical malpractice”. Turkiye Klinikleri Tip Bilimleri Dergisi1 (2008).
  2. Kohn Linda T., et al. “Institute of Medicine. To err is human: building a safer health system” (2000): 17-68.
  3. Glickel Steven Z. "The ethics of expediency”. The Journal of Hand Surgery5 (2009): 799-807.
  4. Madea Burkhard and Johanna Preuß. "Medical malpractice as reflected by the forensic evaluation of 4450 autopsies”. Forensic Science International1-3 (2009): 58-66.
  5. Herring Jonathan. “Medical law and ethics”. Oxford University Press, USA (2014).
  6. Delacroix Romuald. "Exploring the experience of nurse practitioners who have committed medical errors: A phenomenological approach”. Journal of the American Association of Nurse Practitioners7 (2017): 403-409.
  7. Americans’ Experiences with Medical Errors and Views on Patient Safety Final Report.
  8. Oyebode Femi. "Clinical errors and medical negligence”. Medical Principles and Practice4 (2013): 323-333.
  9. Johnson Shepard P., et al. “Adderssing medical errors in hand surgery”. The Journal of Hand Surgery9 (2014): 1877-1882.
  10. Thomas EJ., et al. “Costs of medical injuries in Utah and Colorado”. Inquiry3 (1999): 255-264.
  11. Herndon James H. "The patient first. Above all do no harm (primum non nocere)”. Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery4 (2013): 289-290.
  12. Cobb Tyson K. "Wrong site surgery-where are we and what is the next step?”. Hand2 (2012): 229-232.
  13. Agout C., et al. “Epidemiology of malpractice claims in the orthopedic and trauma surgery department of a French teaching hospital: a 10-year retrospective study”. Orthopaedics and Traumatology: Surgery and Research1 (2018): 11-15.
  14. AB Jena., et al. “Malpractice risk according to physician specialty”. New England Journal of Medicine 365 (2011): 629-636.
  15. IH Khan., et al. “Analysis of NHSLA claims in orthopedic surgery”. Orthopedics 5 (2012): e726-e731.
  16. ND Pappas., et al. “Medical malpractice in hand surgery”. Journal of Hand Surgery (American Volume) 1 (2014): 168-170.
  17. DM Studdert., et al. “Defensive medicine among high-risk specialist physicians in a volatile malpractice environment”. Journal of the American Medical Association21 (2005): 2609-2617.
  18. U Tarantino., et al. “Professional liability in orthopaedics and traumatology in Italy”. Clinical Orthopaedics and Related Research 10 (2013): 3349-3357.
  19. World Health Organization. World Alliance of patient safety, Geneva (Switzerland): World Health Organization (2010).
  20. Regenbogen Scott E., et al. “Patterns of technical error among surgical malpractice claims: an analysis of strategies to prevent injury to surgical patients”. Annals of surgery5 (2007): 705-711.
  21. Sasor Sarah E and Kevin C Chung. "Litigation in hand surgery: a 30-year review”. Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery4 (2020): 430e-438e.
  22. Di Nunno Nunzio., et al. “Medical malpractice: a study of case histories by the Forensic Medicine Section of Bari”. The American Journal of Forensic Medicine and Pathology2 (2004): 141-144.
  23. Fisha K., et al. “The prevalence and root causes of surgical site infections in public versus private hospitals in Ethiopia: a retrospective observational cohort study”. Patient Safety in Surgery 13 (2019): 26.
  24. Usama Ghaffar., et al. “A Review of the Frequency of Medical Error in Saudi Arabia: An Emerging Concern”. Journal of Evidence Based Medicine and Healthcare52 (2015): 8692-8695.
  25. Philippe Michel., et al. “French national survey of inpatient adverse events prospectively assessed with ward staff”. Quality and Safety in Health Care 5 (2007): 369-377.
  26. Wong DA., et al. “Medical errors in orthopaedics”. Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery 3 (2009): 547-557.

Abdulrahim Aljayar. Intraoperative Technical Errors in Hand Surgery Prevalence and Potential Root Causes. EC Orthopaedics 14.7 (2023): 01-12.