Originally published at: Anatomy-challenged surgeon in Florida allegedly removes wrong organ (again!) — his patient dies - Boing Boing
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… that is definitely not a wonderful thing 
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Not to punch a hospital system while they’re down, but it is worth calling out that this was at an Ascension hospital. They’ve cut everything to the bone, including their patients. For those paying attention, I’d think twice about care there. And don’t even get me started on mortality rates for pregnant women in Catholic hospitals in general.
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OK, I may be just a country pediatrician, but as country boy I can assure you, a liver and a spleen do not resemble each other much at all! Even if the location were not an issue, they are not similar in appearance. I am gob smacked that anyone with any medical training at all could make this mistake, let alone an (theoretically?) experienced surgeon who had seen these parts previously. Some days, I am just at a loss…
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I just googled spleen. “Spleen vs liver” was the second search suggestion. Just saying.
Maybe the surgeon needs a quick refresher course.
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Liver. Huge. Attached to gall bladder. Right upper quadrant of abdomen.
Spleen. Attached to pancreas. Much smaller. Left upper quadrant of abdomen.
in situ they are even more distinct that these images make it look. There is no excuse.
Found this comparison. Not exactly what one would see in an OR, of course, but…
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Surgeons aren’t in the operating room all by themselves. No one else in the room thought something wasn’t right?
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EXACTLY!
As I said, no excuse for this at all. Someone had to notice they were on the right side. Now, situs inversus exists, but is generally a pretty big deal in surgical settings and unlikely to be unannounced. Yeah, this is infuriating. I apologize if I am taking this a bit personally, but there is enough bullshit out there about doctors who are idiots and don’t care about their patients to have one actually do that and not call it out for what it is.
Edit cause I’m not so bright…
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My penchant for cartoons “forced” me to post this even after discovering your superior posting of professional renderings.
I wonder if even a simplified cartoon would have saved Mr. Bryan.
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I wonder if that doctor was drunk, or high on drugs, or something.
Anyway - he should go to prison for manslaughter, and the hospital sued until it’s nothing but a smoking crater.
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I’ve heard of people writing instructions on them selves before surgery. Like if it on the left leg, they write that down, and maybe “not this leg” on the right. I had back surgery 20ish years ago and remember them repeating what was going to happen over and over. Maybe on top of writing down which part, they print out a medical textbook about the procedure and specific part if it’s an organ. 
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While in college, I had mono, and the accompanying enlarged spleen that can come with it. My doctor mentioned, “oh, you can palpate your spleen, which means it’s about ten times larger than normal”. I then read up on it, and learned it was more susceptible to rupture from trauma, and, since I had some fever dreams with my mono, had a dream I got round house kicked in the spleen and died. That said, my day job used to include dissection, and yeah, wrong side, liver looks like liver, spleen looks like spleen and never the twain shall meet.
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hey, its all good, ya know?
The Ascension Sacred Heart Emerald Coast hospital said in a statement sent to the Guardian that it “take[s] allegations like this very seriously, and our leadership team is performing a thorough investigation into this event”.
They continued: *“*Patient safety is and remains our number one priority. Our thoughts and prayers remain with the family.
see? /s
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My thought too.
I’m wondering how many surgeries this guy almost botched except a nurse said something.
I’m thinking maybe the staff had been complaining about this guy for years to no effect. Maybe they decided to sacrifice this patient to get something done about this surgeon. Chilling.
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My middle-school daughter’s response:
Hmm. Are they going to give him a sheet with all the organs on it?
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Doctor Benway, ship’s surgeon, drunkenly adds six inches to an already overlarge cut.
“Perhaps the appendix is on the other side, sir.”
“Appendix on the other side? I’m taking the appendix out. What do you think I’m doing here?”
Just then, the ship is rocked by a large wave, spilling the doctor’s cigarette ashes into the open incision.
“Sew 'im up. I can’t work under these conditions!”
~paraphrasing Wm. S. Burroughs as best i can recall.
i fear Dr. Benway may have been the surgeon what cut out my gall bladder here in florida-da land.
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Holy shit!
"Who is Dr. Thomas Shaknovsky?
Dr. Thomas Shaknovsky is a colon and rectal surgeon in Crestview, Florida, according to U.S. News & World Report."
"Dr. Thomas Shaknovsky education
Dr. Thomas Shaknovsky received his medical degree from Chicago College of Osteopathic Medicine at Midwestern University, and he’s been in practice for more than a decade."
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