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Updated: May 13, 2026

Vessel-sparing Excision and Primary Anastomosis

Vessel-sparing Excision and Primary Anastomosis

Published on: January 7, 2019

Retained surgical sponges, needles and instruments.

D Hariharan¹, D N Lobo

¹Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust, Queen's Medical Centre, Nottingham, UK.

Annals of the Royal College of Surgeons of England

|March 15, 2013

Summary

Retained surgical sponges and instruments (RSI) are a serious medical error. While manual counts are fallible, new technologies like RFID tagging show promise in preventing these never events.

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Area of Science:

Medical Safety
Surgical Procedures
Healthcare Quality Improvement

Background:

Retained surgical sponges and instruments (RSI) are a recognized medical 'never event' with severe consequences.
The incidence of RSI is low but significantly higher in open cavity surgeries.

Purpose of the Study:

To determine the extent of the retained surgical item problem.
To identify effective strategies for preventing retained sponges and instruments.

Main Methods:

A comprehensive literature search was conducted across major databases (MEDLINE, Embase, Science Citation Index, Google Scholar).
Searched for English articles published between January 2000 and June 2012.
Included studies on incidence, risk, management, and prevention of RSI.

Main Results:

Sponges are more commonly retained than needles or instruments.
Risk factors include emergency surgery, procedural changes, high BMI, and inaccurate manual counts.
New technologies like barcode scanning and RFID tagging for sponges have shown successful trial results.

Conclusions:

Vigilance by operating theatre personnel is crucial for preventing RSI.
Prospective multicenter trials are needed to evaluate new technologies for eliminating this medical error.

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Last Updated: May 13, 2026

Vessel-sparing Excision and Primary Anastomosis

Vessel-sparing Excision and Primary Anastomosis

Published on: January 7, 2019