Frequencies and types of injury from abdominopelvic surgery
| Characteristic | Location or type of injury; no. of cases (% of all cases)* | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| All cases n = 181 | Bowel† n = 53 | Bile duct n = 32 | Vascular n = 32 | Ureter n = 30 | Bladder n = 19 | Other‡ n = 8 | Retained surgical item§ n = 25 | |
| Type of surgery | ||||||||
| Nongynecologic | 111 (61.3) | 27 (14.9) | 32 (17.7) | 28 (15.5) | 8 (4.4) | 3 (1.7) | 7 (3.9) | 16 (8.8) |
| Gynecologic | 70 (38.7) | 26 (14.4) | 0 (0.0) | 4 (2.2) | 22 (12.2) | 16 (8.8) | 1 (0.6) | 9 (5.0) |
| Surgical approach* | ||||||||
| Laparoscopic | 126 (69.6) | 41 (22.7) | 32 (17.7) | 23 (12.7) | 15 (8.3) | 12 (6.6) | 6 (3.3) | 12 (6.6) |
| Laparotomy | 55 (30.4) | 12 (6.6) | 0 (0.0) | 9 (5.0) | 15 (8.3) | 7 (3.9) | 2 (1.1) | 13 (7.2) |
| Mechanism of injury* | ||||||||
| During dissection | 79 (43.6)¶ | 31 (17.1) | 6 (3.3) | 15 (8.3) | 23 (12.7) | 11 (6.1) | 3 (1.7) | NA |
| Ligation/clip placement | 38 (21.0) | 3 (1.7) | 25 (13.8) | 8 (4.4) | 4 (2.2) | 3 (1.7) | 2 (1.1) | NA |
| Entry-related (e.g., trocar) | 23 (12.7) | 10 (5.5) | 0 (0.0) | 7 (3.9) | 1 (0.6) | 3 (1.7) | 2 (1.1) | NA |
| Thermal/cautery | 9 (5.0) | 4 (2.2) | 1 (0.6) | 1 (0.6) | 2 (1.1) | 0 (0.0) | 1 (0.6) | NA |
| During closure | 32 (3.9) | 4 (2.2) | 0 (0.0) | 1 (0.6) | 1 (0.6) | 2 (1.1) | 0 (0.0) | NA |
| Unknown | 10 (5.5) | 5 (2.8) | 1 (0.6) | 1 (0.6) | 2 (1.1) | 1 (0.6) | 1 (0.6) | NA |
NA = not applicable.
↵* Some patients had more than 1 injury and mechanism (and approach).
↵† Includes esophagus (2), stomach (2), small bowel (29), colon (15) and rectum (10).
↵‡ Includes liver (4), uterus (1), spleen (1), kidney (1) and nerve (1).
↵§ These most often included failures in surgical count procedures (e.g., surgical sponge, instruments) and also equipment breakdown (e.g., trocar ring, metallic edge of an endopouch, surgical bag, tip of uterine manipulator, bulb syringe, strip of insulation from a monopolar laparoscopic instrument).
↵¶ Included in cases in which cautery was used with dissection.