I had decompression surgery in October and my neurosurgeon left a surgical clip in. I'm wondering if anyone here has had a surgical clip left in after decompression surgery. My operative report states that they were used to temporarily hold up the achronoid while they sutured the dura in place. It also stated that the clips were removed as the suturing of the dura was being completed. It doesn't mention anything about leaving once clip in. I asked my neurosurgeon and he said that he usually leaves the clip in when it is mixed in with the sutures. He also said that other surgeons also do this. He said that it can't become dislodged. I feel concerned because I'm not sure about having it left in. Any feed back is appreciated.
Thanks for answering my post. I'm doing ok. some of my symptoms are better and some are worse and I have new symptoms. Yes I had a MRI done before my visit with my neurosurgeon and it did pick up what's called a temporary titanium weck clip as described in the operative report. The operative report stated that the clips were removed and all counts were accurate. I'm worried that my neurosurgeon may have accidently left the clip in and this concerns me. I think I need to talk to another neurosurgeon and ask about this. If my neurosurgeon had left the clip in a part of the surgery it should have stated that in the operative report but it didn't. Doesn't make sense to me. I need to look into this for peace of mind.
Abby said:
I am not a doctor, but leaving clips in, I have never heard of a neurosurgeon using that kind of procedure. This one is a new one on me. Have you had a MRI and it picks up the image of the clip? Was it a metal clip? How are you doing? You might want ask another neurosurgeon if that is a normal thing.
Let us know.
Hi mrob,
If the surgical report states all of the clips were removed and accounted for....a mistake was made. Look into it and get it corrected if need be. If you are given the "run around", obtain legal counsel.
Best of luck to you.
Thanks for the advice Aussie.
The clips you describe are not part of the surgical count. They are commonly used(particularly by older surgeons) as a means of hemostasis in the posterior fossa. They are small and commonly left behind in cases with bleeding issues.
What I suspect happened in your case is that one of the clips, as your surgeon stated, got caught in the sutures and was difficult to remove. His phrasing of all clips being removed is probably a stock statement he makes on all his chiari cases and he said it incorrectly in your operative note.
The clips are designed to be left behind and I was trained(in the early '90s) to just leave them. I've never seen a complication from leaving one behind(but that's a surgical technique I don't personally use anymore).
They do leave a small MRI artifact(Titanium is only minimally ferro-magnetic, sometimes you can see similar artifact from drill bit dust).
Aneurysm clips are different.
If there is any doubt, or you have lost faith in your neurosurgeon, there is never a downside to getting another opinion.