Texting from the operating room

Cellphone use is not generally restricted in the operating room, but some experts say the time for rules has come. In interviews, many described co-workers' texting friends and relatives from the surgical suite. Some spoke of colleagues who hide a phone in a drawer and check it when they think no one is watching. "Sometimes it's just stuff like shopping online or checking Facebook," said Dwight Burney, an orthopedic surgeon from Albuquerque. "The problem is that it does lead to distraction." This can result in medical errors or lax safety procedures, such as forgetting to check a patient's identity, he said.