More incompetence and thus more bowing and begging…
Nagasaki hospital suspends oral surgery after dentists pull wrong teeth 3 years in row
(Mainichi Japan)
NAGASAKI -- Nagasaki University Hospital here announced Dec. 6 that a dentist had removed the wrong wisdom tooth from a female patient -- the latest in a series of similar cases at the hospital in three consecutive years.
According to the hospital, the incident occurred on Nov. 8 when a dentist in its oral and maxillofacial surgery department failed to check which wisdom tooth should be removed from the patient in her 30s. The woman pointed this out, and another procedure was performed on Nov. 16, but neither dentist nor department head reported the error to the hospital. The hospital became aware of the malpractice on Nov. 30, after the woman submitted a written comment to the institution.
The case follows incidents in December 2020 and April 2021, when Nagasaki University Hospital dentists tasked with removing a wisdom tooth instead pulled the one next to it. The hospital had introduced measures to prevent a recurrence, such as assigning the doctor in charge one week before a procedure after checking the patient's symptoms, but they were not carried out thoroughly. The doctor in charge of the recent case was assigned on the day of the surgery.
Regarding the series of medical accidents by multiple dentists, the hospital admitted that "there is a problem with the organizational culture of the oral surgery department," and suspended medical examinations at the department from Dec. 6, with exceptions including emergency cases and patients with acute conditions. It is set to review its countermeasures, and is uncertain when it will resume examinations at the department.
Nagasaki University Hospital Vice-Director Takashi Sawase told a press conference that the failure to report the error was "inexcusable in terms of medical safety." He added, "We will expose all the problems. We are sorry to the patients who had appointments."