- Factual errors: Multiple breaches in sterile procedure, including at the end when the doctors "clean up" over Hayden's surgical area.
- Factual errors: The endotracheal tube (breathing tube) was not secured to the patient. It is standard practice to secure this tube to the patient in order to keep it in place.
- Factual errors: Clay's heart shows asystole on the ECG monitor, yet the surgeon calls for the defibrillator. An asystole, i.e. non-beating heart, can and must not be defibrillated.
- Factual errors: The surgeon starts prepping the op site even before the anesthesiologist intubates the patient. Usually you first sedate, then anesthetize & intubate the patient before any preparations starts b/c the sedatives and hypnotics tend to make a person susceptible to hallucinations & bad trips that could be triggered by sensory input (noise, light, the cold from the disinfectant).
- Incorrectly regarded as goofs: The new surgeon states they used Adriamycin to 'spike' the new heart. Adriamycin is a chemotherapeutic agent that is red in color. The syringe that Sam hands to Jack is filled with a clear and colorless liquid, however, the new surgeon was merely speculating what might have been used.
>>> WARNING: Here Be Spoilers <<<
Goofs below here contain information that may give away important plot points. You may not want to read any further if you've not already seen this title.
- Factual errors: SPOILER: Lilith's heart would not be available for transplant in the scenario as it is shown. In real life, she would have been intubated and had multiple IV access and monitoring sites, and the hospital would have had to go through the process of having her declared brain dead before her organs could be removed.
- Factual errors: SPOILER: By overdosing on isosorbide or any other of her son's medications, Lillith would have caused her own blood pressure to drop, therefore jeopardizing the health of her heart. It's likely that she would have known the effects of the medication, and not chosen to use them for an overdose.
- Revealing mistakes: SPOILER: In the operating room, the visible vein on Lillith's forehead indicates that blood is still flowing through it, even though she is supposed to be dead.
- Errors made by characters (possibly deliberate errors by the filmmakers): SPOILER: When Sam is about to give Clay's new heart an injection, she holds the syringe pointing upwards and flicks it a few times with her finger. This is normal medical procedure that is done before giving an injection and is to remove air bubbles that might otherwise cause a (possibly fatal) embolism were the air to be injected into the patient. However, if Sam is planning on killing Clay, why would she worry about air bubbles in the injection?
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