What is the purpose of preoperative marking and site verification before arthroplasty?

• A. To plan postoperative imaging
• B. To prevent wrong-site or wrong-side surgery; ensures correct patient, procedure, and side, with patient involvement and confirmation by the team
• C. To determine anesthesia type
• D. To schedule postoperative therapy

Answer: (B)

The main idea here is patient safety through accurate site identification. Preoperative marking and site verification are done to prevent wrong-site or wrong-side surgery by clearly confirming the patient, the procedure, and the exact operative side before any incision. Marking the intended site gives the whole team a visual cue, and when paired with a formal time-out where the team, and ideally the patient, confirm identity, procedure, and side, it creates a final, shared check that the correct operation will be performed on the correct limb. This step is a safety measure, not a planning tool for postoperative imaging, nor a decision about anesthesia type or postoperative therapy, which are handled by other parts of the care team.