Thomas Shaknovsky botched the surgery of William Bryan, 70, who died on the operating table

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”.

  • kazerniel@lemmy.worldEnglish
    401·
    2 days ago

    because most commenters here only seem to be reading the headline: according to the surgeon, the patient started heavily bleeding first, and as he was trying to find/stop the bleeding, that’s when the mixup happened:

    Shaknovsky’s deposition testimony described the chaos in the operating room after Bryan began bleeding extensively, causing his heart to stop. Medical staff performed chest compressions, and Shaknovsky attempted to find where the bleeding was coming from.

    “I couldn’t tell the difference because I was so upset,” he said, referring to the organ he mistakenly identified.

    “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.

    As to why he didn’t notice the obviously wrong size of the organ:

    Despite a spleen typically being significantly smaller than a liver, Shaknovsky said he believed Bryan’s spleen was “double the size of what is normal” because of a mass on it. Beverly Bryan’s lawsuit, however, states that a medical examiner told her that her husband’s spleen was anatomically “nearly normal”, according to NBC.

    edit: more context in this comment: https://lemmy.world/post/46739636/23694470

    • BeardededSquidward@lemmy.blahaj.zoneEnglish
      2·
      1 day ago

      What colour is a spleen typically? Even doubled in size a spleen can’t be as big as a liver that’s distinctly shaped, takes up much of the body cavity, and known to have a reddish brown colour that’s fairly distinct.

    • BygoneNeutrino@lemmy.worldEnglish
      4·
      2 days ago

      … comparing this surgeon’s patient survival rate to that of other surgeons should determine whether he is to blame.

      If his patients are significantly more likely to die than on average, it is probably the surgeon’s fault. If he has a pristine record, on the other hand, it was probably beyond his control.

      • Pyr@lemmy.caEnglish
        14·
        2 days ago

        That would go poorly if he tends to operate on riskier patients. Would definitely have to compare with other surgeons that have a similar patient risk.

        • BygoneNeutrino@lemmy.worldEnglish
          6·
          2 days ago

          Absolutely. A good study would account for confounding variables. Even the best surgeons make mistakes that lead to death; they are only human.

          …society doesn’t want to create a situation where surgeons refuse to operate for fear of making a mistake.