Is the Systematic Sponge Count an Impediment to Patient Care During Plastic Surgical Procedures?

Nurses and surgeons collaborate to conduct safe surgery. We follow time-consuming and labor-intensive protocols, such as the systematic counting and verifying of surgical sponges. However, the counting process may be distracting from other patient-centered tasks. To understand the perception of plastic surgery professionals about the intraoperative sponge count, we designed an online questionnaire. One hundred plastic surgeons and residents from 32 different countries completed the survey. The results showed that most often (70%) the scrub person determines when sponges will be counted, and 34.3% of the time, a sponge count is incorrect at the first count and then corrected. The main reason for an incorrect sponge count appears to be a change in personnel (53%). Radiological imaging is required during an average of 8.7% of surgeries to rule out a retained sponge in the patient. Notably, missing sponges are most frequently found elsewhere in the operating room. Younger surgeons prefer to pause during the surgical procedure until the sponge count is completed and noted to be correct. This approach appears to be associated with fewer counting errors, a shorter counting time, and a significant reduction in distraction of the whole surgical team. Performing a cavity sweep before beginning wound closure and using large surgical sponges are also suggested as alternatives to counting sponges. A sponge count can become an impediment to patient care because it has limited reliability and causes distraction among the team. A surgical pause can be implemented until the sponge count is completed or until any discrepancy is resolved.