Surgical Clamp Left In Patient's Gut; Hospital Fined

State regulators slapped Riverside Community Hospital with a $50,000 fine for a surgical mishap that left a patient with a clamp stuck in his gut, it was announced today.

RCH was one of a dozen medical facilities statewide on which the California Department of Public Health imposed administrative penalties for incidents that "caused, or (were) likely to cause, serious injury or death to patients,'' according to a health department statement.

Agency documents showed that in June 2009, a patient checked into the emergency room of RCH complaining of abdominal pain. After determining the individual could be suffering from a bladder disorder, doctors decided to operate.

The patient's gallbladder was removed, but in the process the surgical team forgot about one of the 14-cm clamps inserted to separate his intestines, documents stated.

Health department officials wrote that an internal hospital investigation revealed physicians working on the patient were "aware a clamp was not accounted for,'' but chose not to search for it.

The confusion apparently stemmed from a nurse rotation in the middle of the procedure. according to documents.

The patient had reoccurring pain after the operation, prompting his physician to order a CT scan, which showed where the clamp had been left.

Another surgery was performed to remove the object, documents said.

"Once the hospital was notified of the situation, we self-reported to
the state,'' Cherie Russell, an RCH spokeswoman, told City News Service. "The hospital took aggressive measures to train physicians and staff members. We changed policies and procedures and now audit instrument count documentation and observe the instrument count process to ensure accuracy.''

Other Southern California hospitals that received fines were:
   -- Brotman Medical Center in Culver City;
   -- LAC-USC Medical Center in Los Angeles; and
   -- Torrance Memorial Medical Center in Torrance.

A complete list is available at http://www.cdph.ca.gov/Pages/PH11-038.aspx. --City News Service