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Technical Errors

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Patient Safety in Surgery

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Abstract

Technical errors are one of the most common causes of adverse surgical events. Due to the multiple steps and duration of many surgical procedures, manual errors causing inadvertent injury can occur despite care and vigilance. Judgment errors and knowledge deficits can also contribute to technical errors. The increasing complexity of some new advanced technologies may increase the risk for technical error, especially for the surgeon who may be unfamiliar with the nuances of the new technique or device. Because of their personal nature, which reflects on the surgeons own skill and expertise, technical errors may not be as readily reported or disclosed compared to other categories of errors.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Orthopaedics, Denver Health Medical Center, 777 Bannock St., MC 0188, Denver, CO, 80204, USA

    David J. Hak MD, MBA, FACS

Authors
  1. David J. Hak MD, MBA, FACS
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Correspondence to David J. Hak MD, MBA, FACS .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Orthopaedics, Denver Health Medical Center, Denver, Colorado, USA

    Philip F. Stahel

  2. Department of Orthopaedics, Denver Health Medical Center, Denver, Colorado, USA

    Cyril Mauffrey

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© 2014 Springer-Verlag London

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Hak, D.J. (2014). Technical Errors. In: Stahel, P., Mauffrey, C. (eds) Patient Safety in Surgery. Springer, London. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4471-4369-7_5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4471-4369-7_5

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, London

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4471-4368-0

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4471-4369-7

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