Hospital Authority announces a retained guide wire case
The following is issued on behalf of the Hospital Authority:
Regarding a case of retained guide wire, the spokesperson of Hong Kong West Cluster (HKWC) made the following announcement today (April 27) :
A male patient aged around 60 with ischaemic heart disease was admitted to Grantham Hospital (GH) in mid-April for percutaneous coronary intervention. The procedure was completed and the stent of blocked vessels were successfully inserted. During retrieval of coronary guide wire, the wire was found broken and a segment was discovered in the lumen. Clinical condition of the patient and various risk factors were carefully assessed and the retained wire was considered not to be removed. Clinician explained this known complication as well as the management plan to the patient and his relatives immediately.
The GH clinical team later reviewed the incident and studied the recorded video. The length of the guide wire was suspected to be longer than the original estimation. Having carefully considered the clinical support and facility required, the patient was transferred to the cardiac catherisation laboratory of Queen Mary Hospital (QMH) on April 26. Interventional procedure was performed to retrieve the retained guide wire but unsuccessful. After consultation with QMH Cardiothoracic Surgeons, clinical decision was made to proceed to an open heart surgery immediately to retrieve the broken wire. The patient was subsequently admitted to Intensive Care Unit for post-operative care. Clinical teams will continue to provide appropriate treatment to the patient and to keep close contact with relatives to render necessary support.
The hospital expresses apology to the patient concerned. The case has been reported to the Hospital Authority Head Office via the Advance Incident Reporting System. The hospital will review the case in order to ensure service standard and patient safety.
