[Noah930]

Wrong side surgery has become a big deal over the past 10 years or so, here in America. All hospital and surgicenter ORs are expected to have some sort of protocol in place to eliminate this possibility. Obviously it still happens. There's no specific legislation or regulation to tell ORs how to do it, but each place is supposed to have a protocol they follow (which is also supposed to be marked as having been performed in the OR medical records).

Usually there's some sort of confirmation with the conscious and unsedated patient in the holding area prior to surgery on what the procedure (and side) are supposed to be. The site is then marked with a marker. In the OR prior to skin incision there's usually a "Time Out" whereby the nursing staff, surgeon, and anesthesiologist all pause to confirm the patient, procedure and side. Often each of those teams will also confirm with the patient those same things when they meet them in the pre-op holding area. OR accrediting organizations don't spell out exactly how the above process is to be performed, but the above reflects the current standards to which health care providers/facilities are held.

Not that it excuses it, but most likely part of the problem in the original post lay in the fact that this was an old woman who probably couldn't answer for herself and had bad vascular disease in both feet. You certainly couldn't ask her, "which side?" Again, not that that makes it OK by any means.