Where have you found missing countable items? - Page 2

This one, this one...one of our female ob/gyns found our lost raytec after walking back to her office accross the street!!!!

Usual for us is a swab inside the surgeons glove that they've removed.

Let's see...

Raytec will cause a problem if they get real bloody, they get tucked in the folds of our kickbucket which is lined with a red bag. You really have to look for them.

Laps thrown away accidentally and yes, the shoe thing. Needles getting stuck in a shoe, twice we have found them in the bottom of a surgeon's shoe.

Came close to losing those rumi rings, surgeon forgot to remove them after a laparoscopic hysterectomy. Scrub nurse mentioned it, and the assistant went in the vagina and pulled it out. Ugh.

Scary.

Shoes, med student & x-ray tech pockets and (my personal favorite) in the pathology department- delivered with the specimen by the attending surgeon!
We are using an RF system now and it's GREAT for finding sponges in trash, linen etc!
FYI: If you are using a Stryker Rover suction and you are missing a small item (peanut, vascular needle, vessel loop, etc) you can use a mini C-arm to check the manifold! (This trick has saved me several times!)

Found a lap under the OR bed, must have fallen and then gotten kicked under it so all that was peaking out was the very edge. Missing raytec in the red kick bucket...after multiple people searching through everything another tech comes in, looks down and goes "is this it", the other nurse and I wanted to die LOL

Ahhh the joys of searching for missing countables. The cuff of the mayo stand drape is notorious for harboring all sorts of items. Best practice is to unfold that cuff........

I worked at a level 1 trauma in ohio. We had a trauma pt come in and they were doing a bowel resection. The count was over by 1 lap which was found in the bowel. The patient had pica and had eaten a lap that they bought on the internet prior to their accident. Talk about an investigation.

No way!! Why a lap I wonder? Hoping to sue????? You win for the most bizzare story!

Found a thin malleable in the trash that was wrapped in a blood soaked towel. A hand drying towel that should have never gotten to the field!

I know!!! why doesn't surgeons/resident do not listen when we say we are counting!?!?!

A lot of times when we are missing rayt/lap, I ask MDs (at appropriate time) if they have any before counting from the field. I had number of cases where they were holding it with their hands or tucked away.

Also, some of the staff will hide instruments on the may under the towels and will not tell you about it.

Couple of months ago, I was told by one of the staff that 4 hospitals that are in same service area as my organization had huge fine due to retaining foreign objects inside the patient. These were what they found: Fred liquid bottle, scratch pads, raytec, q-tip, pathology specimen.