# Man dies from "splenectomy" where they removed his LIVER instead! **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [September 6, 2024, 2:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-dies-from-splenectomy-where-they-removed-his-liver-instead/1006842 "2024-09-06T02:06:41Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2024, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-dies-from-splenectomy-where-they-removed-his-liver-instead/1006842/41 "2024-09-06T16:37:30Z")
> [@Pazu](#): > > > [@Jackmannii](#): > > > > Wonder how the pathologist who received the liver specimen managed to diplomatically frame the diagnosis. > > Specimen designated “spleen”, resection: Fragments of benign hepatic parenchyma; see comment. > > Comment: No splenic tissue is identified in the specimen on multiple sections, suggesting that the findings are not representative. Clinical correlation is recommended. Good, except that “findings are not representative” seems to suggest that the pathologist could’ve found spleen in the morcellation tissue if they’d looked hard enough. I do love “Clinical correlation is recommended”. 😆 🤣 ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2024, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-dies-from-splenectomy-where-they-removed-his-liver-instead/1006842/42 "2024-09-06T16:37:40Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > When all’s said and done, we’ll probably find out that it was some sort of clerical error - the patient was wheeled into the wrong operating room, some form was filled out wrong, or something like that. So he _accidentally_ went into the OR where they were scheduled to kill a different patient? A liver isn’t optional. ---
**Author:** ![leahcim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/b4bc9f/32.png) [@leahcim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/leahcim)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2024, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-dies-from-splenectomy-where-they-removed-his-liver-instead/1006842/43 "2024-09-06T16:42:19Z")
> [@Nyvaak](#): > > (Yes they can be flipped, but that’s about 1 person in 10,000 and they almost always know their condition.) The way I understand it, most people with that condition _never_ know about it, but that idea may have come from a time when diagnostic/surgical interventions that would reveal that knowledge were less common. Maybe I’m being a bit to charitable, but I had imagined that the patient had some kind of disease process going on that made his organs “look weird” in a way that might explain the mistake. The dude was under the knife for a reason after all. ---
**Author:** ![Pazu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pazu/32/15522_2.png) [@Pazu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pazu)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2024, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-dies-from-splenectomy-where-they-removed-his-liver-instead/1006842/44 "2024-09-06T16:45:14Z")
> [@Jackmannii](#): > > Good, except that “findings are not representative” seems to suggest that the pathologist could’ve found spleen in the morcellation tissue if they’d looked hard enough. Given the situation, I’m wondering if the unfortunate pathologist ended up submitting the specimen _in toto_ 😵 I can’t even imagine how many slides that would generate. > [@Jackmannii](#): > > I do love “Clinical correlation is suggested”. 😆 🤣 IOW, “don’t shoot the messenger”. 😅 ---
**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:** [September 6, 2024, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-dies-from-splenectomy-where-they-removed-his-liver-instead/1006842/45 "2024-09-06T16:55:55Z")
> [@leahcim](#): > > Maybe I’m being a bit to charitable, but I had imagined that the patient had some kind of disease process going on that made his organs “look weird” in a way that might explain the mistake. The dude was under the knife for a reason after all. That must be part of it. But they are SO different, in so many ways. I’m guessing the surgeon will lose his licence, at a minimum. ---
**Author:** ![gnoitall](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bb73d2/32.png) [@gnoitall](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gnoitall)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2024, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-dies-from-splenectomy-where-they-removed-his-liver-instead/1006842/46 "2024-09-06T17:36:23Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > The surgeon lighted vessels that should have been recognizable. Illuminating, but I think your autocorrect stumbled over “ligated”. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2024, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-dies-from-splenectomy-where-they-removed-his-liver-instead/1006842/47 "2024-09-06T17:38:29Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > When all’s said and done, we’ll probably find out that it was some sort of clerical error - the patient was wheeled into the wrong operating room, some form was filled out wrong, or something like that. Not that that makes it any better, of course. That’s not how it works. The surgeon would have met with the patient and a team of other doctors before the surgery. They would have known the case very well. They wouldn’t be sent into a room to do a surgery and then look at a screen and been like, “hmm. OK, it’s a liver removal according to the paperwork. Let’s get started.” ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2024, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-dies-from-splenectomy-where-they-removed-his-liver-instead/1006842/48 "2024-09-06T17:44:59Z")
> [@Darren\_Garrison](#): > > So he _accidentally_ went into the OR where they were scheduled to kill a different patient? Sucks for him but a real lucky break for that other guy. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2024, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-dies-from-splenectomy-where-they-removed-his-liver-instead/1006842/49 "2024-09-06T18:04:14Z")
That’s not how it SHOULD work. What of the surgeon didn’t know the case very well? What if the entire pre-op procedure collapsed? The entire hospital needs to be reviewed, stat. ---
**Author:** ![WalterBishop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/aeb1de/32.png) [@WalterBishop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WalterBishop)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2024, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-dies-from-splenectomy-where-they-removed-his-liver-instead/1006842/50 "2024-09-06T18:09:32Z")
> [@running\_coach](#): > > That doctor’s got some spleenin’ to do. 🤣 ---
**Author:** ![Seanette](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/seanette/32/9139_2.png) [@Seanette](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Seanette)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2024, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-dies-from-splenectomy-where-they-removed-his-liver-instead/1006842/51 "2024-09-06T18:11:35Z")
> [@DCnDC](#): > > When surgeons amputate limbs, it’s common for them to clearly mark the “correct” and “wrong” limbs with just a marker. They often have the patient do it themselves, even. You can’t write “wrong organ” on your liver. When my husband had surgery to insert a metal rod in a broken leg, one of the medical staff (my memory of who was who and in what role is hazy after five years that were quite hectic in places) did that, mark the leg to be operated on with something Sharpie-like. Seemed reasonable to my husband and me. ---
**Author:** ![susan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/susan/32/17537_2.png) [@susan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2024, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-dies-from-splenectomy-where-they-removed-his-liver-instead/1006842/52 "2024-09-06T18:27:44Z")
Since a friend was performing her hysterectomy, I tried to get a relative to Sharpie THIS UTERUS on her abdomen. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2024, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-dies-from-splenectomy-where-they-removed-his-liver-instead/1006842/53 "2024-09-06T21:17:27Z")
A surgeon like this would probably say, “And where did you go to medical school?” ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2024, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-dies-from-splenectomy-where-they-removed-his-liver-instead/1006842/54 "2024-09-06T21:18:49Z")
My doctor put an X over my left breast before doing my cancer surgery, just to guarantee that he’ll be operating on the correct area. ---
**Author:** ![Seanette](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/seanette/32/9139_2.png) [@Seanette](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Seanette)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2024, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-dies-from-splenectomy-where-they-removed-his-liver-instead/1006842/55 "2024-09-06T21:21:20Z")
> [@nearwildheaven](#): > > A surgeon like this would probably say, “And where did you go to medical school?” University of Wikipedia, with additional study at Google U. 😃 Still, I’d apparently do better than said “surgeon” did at distinguishing a spleen from a liver. Experience with seeing game butchered would likely cover that. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2024, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-dies-from-splenectomy-where-they-removed-his-liver-instead/1006842/56 "2024-09-06T21:25:39Z")
At one time, DOs were basically glorified chiropractors, and if a physician wishes to go into, for instance, academia, they’re going to want that MD, but for family practice, general surgery, etc. a DO is just fine. My recently-retired family practitioner is a DO, and he was great. His replacement is an MD who was born the year after I graduated from college. Back when I lived in the region, I went to Kirksville, MO (my original DO’s alma mater, BTW) which is the birthplace of osteopathic medicine, and visited their medical museum. It’s pretty small as museums go, but quite interesting. I noticed the large number of women in the old pictures, as in pre-WWI, and asked the docent if they had a nursing school at the time. He replied that Dr. Andrew Still, osteopathy’s founder, believed in the equality of women, and the school originally admitted men and women on an equal basis (not necessarily 50/50, but no 5 or 10% quotas like many other schools of the era did). Granted, this was when a DO was 2 or 3 years from start to finish, but it was still great to see. ---
**Author:** ![Pleonast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pleonast/32/1183_2.png) [@Pleonast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pleonast)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2024, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-dies-from-splenectomy-where-they-removed-his-liver-instead/1006842/57 "2024-09-06T21:30:38Z")
> [@nearwildheaven](#): > > My doctor put an X over my left breast before doing my cancer surgery, just to guarantee that he’ll be operating on the correct area. Like “X marks the spot. Dig here”, or Like “X: do not enter”? ---
**Author:** ![bobsmom101](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bobsmom101/32/2867_2.png) [@bobsmom101](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobsmom101)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2024, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-dies-from-splenectomy-where-they-removed-his-liver-instead/1006842/58 "2024-09-06T21:45:02Z")
When I had my second cataract surgery done, all doped up with Valium and atropine drops, I was startled when the laser equipment started moving to my _left_ eye, the one that had already been corrected. I yelped and started feebly protesting, at which time there was muttering behind me and the machine shifted over. At the end one of the techs asked another one, what does this mean, “Coordinates not found” and the reply was “Don’t worry, just shut it down.” 😬 This may be the real reason patients are rendered unconscious during surgery: to avoid embarrassing the team. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2024, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-dies-from-splenectomy-where-they-removed-his-liver-instead/1006842/59 "2024-09-06T21:45:50Z")
X Marks The Spot! My 7th boobaversary (anniversary of diagnosis) is coming up on October 3rd. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2024, 9:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-dies-from-splenectomy-where-they-removed-his-liver-instead/1006842/60 "2024-09-06T21:57:49Z")
> [@nearwildheaven](#): > > My doctor put an X over my left breast before doing my cancer surgery, just to guarantee that he’ll be operating on the correct area. I _think_ the doctor may involve the patient in the marking process, so that everyone agrees on the area to be operated on. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-dies-from-splenectomy-where-they-removed-his-liver-instead/1006842.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-dies-from-splenectomy-where-they-removed-his-liver-instead/1006842.md?page=4)