Ouch! Surgeon Apologizes for Operating on Wrong Side

To err is human; to apologize divine? A surgeon in Boston recently operated on the wrong side of a patient (see Boston Globe blog entry: Surgeon operates on patient's wrong side) despite much effort by the industry and Beth Deaconess Medical Center to avoid just this type of medical error through use of a "time out" and other practices and procedures.

The error was discovered during recovery, and the surgeon told the patient about the error and apologized. As of the writing of this blog, the patient had not decided whether to have the correct operation — or at which hospital. See full account here...