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Florida surgeon ‘devastated’ over death of patient after removing liver instead of spleen
(www.theguardian.com)
Thomas Shaknovsky botched the surgery of William Bryan, 70, who died on the operating table
According to Shaknovksy’s deposition, after removing Bryan’s liver, the surgeon instructed a nurse to label the organ as a “spleen” – and he also identified it as a spleen in Bryan’s postoperative notes. Shaknovsky later said he had been “mentally compromised” at the time of Bryan’s death, explaining that he was “devastated, demoralized, crying over his passing, felt that I failed him”.
Ope. A commenter has pointed out the surgeon has a record of ineptness. Please disregard this defense of him and continue with your torches & pitchforks.
~~I was ready to ridicule the guy, but before the mistake the patient had been bleeding profusely:~~
~~> “It was like a overflown sink that’s clogged up, and I am looking for a fork at the bottom, trying to feel and find the bleed, and I was not able to do so,” Shaknovsky said. He added: “After 20 minutes of struggling – desperately trying – to save his life, that’s when the wrong-site event took place.~~
~~Emphasis mine. The article says there's some debate on the size of the spleen when it was removed, too.~~
~~I didn't see anywhere that he attempted to "cover it up". It was mislabeled during the chaos. Afterwards he saw the mistake, has admitted to it, and is rightfully tortured by it. I hope the widow finds closure, but I doubt it'll come from a lawsuit.~~
The article also says the "spleen" he removed was far larger than any spleen anyone else had seen before. A trained surgeon should know that the organ they're sawing on is way to fucking big to be a spleen.