Preoperative skin marking and perioperative checks require careful thought: a report of a near miss

Abstract

A patient marked preoperatively for ulnar nerve decompression under general anaesthesia was found to have symmetrical operative site markings. The correct skin mark was transferred to the other side by her sleeping position the night before surgery. Skin marking is an adjunct to safe surgery but is not failsafe.

Keywords::

• surgery
• preoperative localization
• consent
• skin incision

Declaration of interest: The authors report no conflicts of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of the article.