Nurse Cuts Off Baby's Toe ?!

[Zee_RN, BSN, RN]

Orlando Baby's Toe Accidentally Cut Off By Nurse, Family Says

From The Associated Press

Published: Jul 22, 2003

ORLANDO - A hospital worker accidentally cut off a newborn baby's little toe while trying to remove an ankle identification tag, the infant's family said.

The baby girl, Amirona Simmons, was about to be discharged from Arnold Palmer Hospital for Children & Women Monday when a hospital worker told her mother, Sheketa Simmons, that the baby's toe had been ``nipped.'' The baby was delivered over the weekend.

"She said she nipped her pinky toe and when I looked her toe was cut all the way off,'' Sheketa Simmons told WFTV in Orlando.

Doctors at another hospital reattached the toe and were waiting to see if it healed properly, family members said.

Joe Brown, a spokesman at Arnold Palmer Hospital, didn't return a phone call Tuesday morning.

http://news.tbo.com

[altomga, ADN, BSN, MSN, DNP, RN, APRN]

THAT IS AWFUL!!!!

[NicuNsg]

Isn't that horrible. I have a feeling someone's head is gonna roll over that one....... I have a good friend that just went to work in Mother/Baby there at APH. A nip and an amputation are 2 different things. "Pointy end away from the tiny toes"

I truly hope all works out for that little girl. One interesting statement, the babies toe was reattached at another hospital? I think I would've checked my newborns toe b4 I left the hospital, in that particular area the reattaching would've more than likely been done there. APH would not have let that little girl go home. Kinda makes you wonder.....

[gwenith, BSN, RN]

NICUNSG "pointy end away from the tiny toes" couldn't agree more add "and hold leg to make sure sissors do not cut other parts as well!!!":eek:

You see directions for use on the side of matchboxes and you wonder about the world. You see instructions on clothes irones that read "Do not iron clothes while wearing them" and again you wonder about teh depth of human thoughtlessness.

then you read something like this.

Part of me does feel very sorry for the nurse. WE don't know the circumstances. About now she MUST feel like the worst person in the world.

[kids]

Originally posted by gwenith

...Part of me does feel very sorry for the nurse. WE don't know the circumstances. About now she MUST feel like the worst person in the world.

Ditto.

I sliced a 9 mo's leg the other day, Mom (who was helping) let go before I had cleared the baby's leg with the needle. I still feel like pooh, I can't imagine how much worse it would feel if I had lopped her toe off.

[NicuNsg]

Gwenith,

You are absolutely right!!! LOL

Sounds like they'll be having an extremely ridiculous inservice over this one.....

Oh, don't forget the blowdryer in the bath tub...

Kids'r'fun, I know you must have felt so awful!

[SmilingBluEyes]

OUCH. I use safety scissors to remove those bands and always put my hand between baby's body part and the scissors. ALWAYS.

[live4today, RN]

Solution to the problem of possibly dismembering a baby's body part is this:

Let the parents remove the attached tags on their baby once they leave the hospital. :)

[New CCU RN]

When I worked in OB, we'd always just have the parents cut them off. We'd make it ya know an exciting thing. In actuality it was because we didn't want to be the ones with the scissors... :)

[hoolahan, ASN, RN]

I agree, let the parents do it, they will want it to put in the baby book anyway!!

Gwenith, I nearly spewed my drink on the screen! That is sadly laughable, you are absolutely right!!

[sjoe]

Why are people so shocked about this when circumcision does not bother them at all?

[NicuGal, MSN, RN]

Well joe, probably because it wasn't a consented procedure. Nuff said there.

I can see how that can happen....a few of us at work have snipped an earlobe when trimming OET tape...I can't even begin to tell you how awful you feel!

A few months ago we had a peds surg resident walk into a mom's room and tie and snip off a baby's extra digits, just like that! Idiot.