A tip for surgeons

Surgical residents' frequent lack of sleep provides additional support for the “felt pen protocol” described by Patrick Sullivan in a recent news article.1 I suggest that medical staff preparing a patient for surgery write “Cut me” on the affected limb and “Malpractice” on the unaffected one. Writing “Do not cut me” on the unaffected limb could lead to surgical errors if a drape is placed such that it covers the first 2 words. Better to avoid emulating the pencils inscribed “Don't do drugs,” which became famous during the Reagan administration — sharpening these pencils disastrously truncated the intended message.

Allen Jones Family Medicine Resident McMaster University Hamilton, Ont.