# Florida doctor removes wrong organ, resulting in patient's death (2024)

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/florida-doctor-removes-wrong-organ-resulting-in-patients-death-2024/1029289>\
**Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\
**Created:** [April 15, 2026, 1:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/florida-doctor-removes-wrong-organ-resulting-in-patients-death-2024/1029289 "2026-04-15T13:17:50Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 5\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\
**Post date:** [April 15, 2026, 1:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/florida-doctor-removes-wrong-organ-resulting-in-patients-death-2024/1029289/1 "2026-04-15T13:17:50Z")

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[Link.](https://www.pnj.com/story/news/crime/2026/04/13/destin-dr-thomas-shaknovsky-indicted-removing-liver-william-bryan/89596035007/) Supposed to be a **laparoscopic** splenectomy, but he instead removed the liver. Not a lot of detail on exactly what happened, but I can see squeezing a spleen thru a laparoscope, but it seems a tall order for a liver.

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**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\
**Post date:** [April 15, 2026, 1:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/florida-doctor-removes-wrong-organ-resulting-in-patients-death-2024/1029289/2 "2026-04-15T13:19:22Z")

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Here’s the existing thread on point:

> [@Man dies from "splenectomy" where they removed his LIVER instead!](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-dies-from-splenectomy-where-they-removed-his-liver-instead/1006842):
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> This is insane! They were away from home, and he had abdominal pain and a doctor recommended that he have a semi-urgent splenectomy - and they removed his LIVER instead! How could that even happen, unless the man had a massively enlarged spleen which is a very real possibility? I’m not a physician, but those organs are not the same, to put it lightly (although the liver does take over the duties of the spleen if the latter is removed). Apparently, he’d done something like this before.

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**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\
**Post date:** [April 15, 2026, 1:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/florida-doctor-removes-wrong-organ-resulting-in-patients-death-2024/1029289/3 "2026-04-15T13:20:07Z")

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Thanks. Can be closed.

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**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\
**Post date:** [April 15, 2026, 1:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/florida-doctor-removes-wrong-organ-resulting-in-patients-death-2024/1029289/4 "2026-04-15T13:24:51Z")

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**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\
**Post date:** [April 15, 2026, 1:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/florida-doctor-removes-wrong-organ-resulting-in-patients-death-2024/1029289/5 "2026-04-15T13:25:16Z")

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Yup, one thread is probably the right number. 😃