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Florida surgeon mistakenly removes patient's liver instead of spleen, causing him to die, widow says (www.nbcnews.com)

submitted 3 months ago by MicroWave to c/health

18 comments fedilink hide all child comments

A Florida surgeon mistakenly removed a man’s liver instead of his spleen, causing him to die on the operating table, a lawyer for the man’s widow alleges.

William Bryan, 70, of Muscle Shoals, Alabama, underwent surgery on Aug. 21, at Ascension Sacred Heart Emerald Coast hospital in Miramar, Florida, because of spleen abnormalities, according to a statement from the personal injury firm Zarzaur Law, based in Pensacola, Florida.

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[–] [email protected] 21 points 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago) (4 children)

How?

Shaknovsky told Beverly Bryan her husband’s spleen was so diseased that it was four times bigger than normal and it had moved to the other side of his body

Oh, of course. I'm sure organs do that sort of thing all the time.

[–] [email protected] 14 points 3 months ago (1 children)

"This spleen is so diseased it's in the exact same place as and looks just like a liver"

[–] [email protected] 3 points 3 months ago

If it flops like a liver and drops like a liver... it's obviously a spleen

[–] [email protected] 6 points 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago) (1 children)

I mean, there is an extremely rare condition where basically all of your internal organs are mirrored or flipped from their normal orientation... (situs inversus, roughly 1 in 10,000 people are estimated to have it)

But...

If that were the case here, it'd be immediately obvious to any one with basic anatomical knowledge.

Hope this dumbass goes to jail.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 3 months ago (1 children)

Hope this dumbass goes to jail.

Why? Unless intent can be proven, this is a fuck-up and nothing else. Jailtime would benefit literally no one in this case.

[–] [email protected] 10 points 3 months ago (1 children)

Criminal negligence.

[–] [email protected] -3 points 3 months ago (1 children)

Cool. Whose life is improved by the prison sentence?

[–] [email protected] 2 points 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago)

Everyone, knowing a killer didn't get away with it.

If you dislike the existence of the state at a fundamental level, I will also accept vigilantes removing his liver.

[–] Raiderkev 3 points 3 months ago (1 children)

My appendix was apparently on the other side. It took them forever to diagnose and I lived with chronic appendicitis as a result for over a year. That was fun. It took my ass going septic and going to the ER for them to even bother to run a CT and find the source of the problem. Even when I said are you sure this isn't appendicitis? No raiderkev, your appendix is on the other side. This is just indigestion. Fuck you urgent care.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 3 months ago

I assume that in this case, they did the imaging before starting the surgery. Even if the spleen really was on the wrong side, they should have known in advance.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 3 months ago

If I was a surgeon I could see myself making that mistake