Emilie Munson

3 days ago | stamfordadvocate.com | Emilie Munson

A pit bull named Coraline waits to be adopted at the Bridgeport Animal Control Center on Evergreen Street in Bridgeport, Conn., on Saturday Aug. 6, 2016. Christian Abraham / Hearst Connecticut MediaState Rep. Brenda Kupchick in Fairfield, Conn. Dec. 21, 2016.

1 week ago | sfchronicle.com | Emilie Munson |Leila Darwiche

For a week after her surgery, 26-year-old Emily Abney-Acosta’s abdomen swelled. It was so tender that a tight shirt was too much pressure. She couldn’t stand up straight from the pain or lift her young children. In September 2018, she rushed to an emergency department in Frisco, Texas. She was evaluated and assured her incision would eventually heal, she said. Then, Abney-Acosta woke up to find the inch-long wound had burst open and was oozing fluid. She changed the dressing every day for months.

3 weeks ago | houstonchronicle.com | Leila Darwiche |Emilie Munson

MethodologyHearst Newspapers surveyed all 50 states and the District of Columbia on whether their health departments required the collection of data on the retention of surgical items after surgery in hospitals and other health care facilities. In 20 states and the District of Columbia, states mandate reporting of retained surgical item cases. Of those with mandated reporting, 16 states and the District of Columbia. had publicly available data for at least one year.

3 weeks ago | houstonchronicle.com | Emilie Munson |Leila Darwiche

For a week after her surgery, 26-year-old Emily Abney-Acosta's abdomen swelled. It was so tender that a tight shirt was too much pressure. She couldn't stand up straight from the pain or lift her young children. In September 2018, she rushed to an emergency department in Frisco, Texas. She was evaluated and assured her incision would eventually heal, she said. Then, Abney-Acosta woke up to find the inch-long wound had burst open and was oozing fluid. She changed the dressing every day for months.

3 weeks ago | timesunion.com | Emilie Munson |Leila Darwiche

Roughly every day in the U.S., at least one patient leaves a surgery with an object, such as a sponge, needle or broken tool fragment, unintentionally left inside them. A Hearst Newspapers investigation identified thousands of cases of surgical items left in patients that were reported in national and state health data between 2015 and 2023. It’s likely the true number of cases nationally is much higher. There’s no national entity that keeps track of all incidents.