Florida surgeon charged with killing man after removing liver instead of spleen

ccanucker2016 about 11 hours ago 19 commentsRead Article on arstechnica.com

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ashleyn•40 minutes ago

Immediately was reminded of another case of a grossly negligent surgeon, Christopher Duntsch: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christopher_Duntsch

I'm sure I and many other concerned patients and potential-patients are asking; how does something like this even occur? What institutional failures in medicine led to two grossly negligent and incompetent surgeons being given the controls to peoples' lives? What safeguards were neglected at the academic and organisational layers, and what are we doing so that this does not occur again? If institutions are doing their job, no case like this should ever get to the point where a prosecutor needs to stop and clean things up, much less to the first maiming of a patient.

wewewedxfgdf•about 3 hours ago

There's a million podcasts out there about negligent butcher doctors. To be truly shocked, listen to Dr Death from Wondery to make a start: Dr. Duntsch https://wondery.com/shows/dr-death/season/1/

AND beware getting emergency surgery overseas.

I know a surgeon who warned that if for example you get appendicitis they'll take out other bits from you to claim more insurance money. I also know a person who appears to be a victim of this.

If you can possibly avoid it, go back home ot get surgery - assuming you live in a country with a trusthworthy medical system.

ashleyn•33 minutes ago

This occurred in Florida. This is but one isolated incident, yet, I can't help but notice the two examples that come to mind (this and Christopher Duntsch) both occurred in states with leadership that champion deregulation. Even if deregulation was the ultimate culprit, it seems inexcusable to me that academic/medical institutions aren't self-regulating effectively despite that.

alexpc201•about 2 hours ago

In Argentina, a person had the wrong leg amputated. It is terrible to fall into the hands of surgeons in third world sanatoriums. https://www.lanacion.com.ar/sociedad/berazategui-le-amputaro...

rbanffy•40 minutes ago

Such as Florida.

burnt-resistor•about 8 hours ago

My paternal grandmother had an involuntary radical hysterectomy with an emergency appendectomy either because of classist eugenics against enlisted military wives post-WWII or, as she said, the Navy surgeon was drunk. Nothing ever happened to said surgeon.

lifestyleguru•about 7 hours ago

> involuntary radical hysterectomy

If this makes your grandmother feel any better this happens also nowadays, in Europe, in a country with public healthcare, with sober surgeon [1]. Some surgeons are simply psychopaths and the first time you meet them is unconscious on operating table.

https://www-rmf24-pl.translate.goog/regiony/poznan/news-obud...

bmitc•about 11 hours ago

I just don't know even what to say to this. That is absolutely devastating for the family. This story is absolutely insane. This sounds like something you'd read about in a third-world country in the 19th century.

The fact that he just kept doubling down and then even tried to cover it up is chilling. What is his deal? He just wants to play doctor? Does he get heavily paid for surgeries?

I see this on an 4 year old review:

> I truly believe, and have been told, it sounds like the outpatient surgery benefits him more monetarily than doing it during my 8 day hospital stay.

Perhaps this guy is just in it for the money and totally out of his league.

It makes you wonder why checks and balances failed to allow this guy to practice medicine and who wasn't speaking up or being listened to. It's pretty scary if there are doctor's like this out there.

random3•about 10 hours ago

It’s unfortunately the case in 21st century in unexpected places with systemic issues and it can get worse — e.g. repeated surgeries under influence, etc.

kstenerud•about 9 hours ago

This is, unfortunately, how narcissists behave. It's simply impossible for a narcissist to be wrong. They truly believe themselves to be right, all the time, and will even distort reality around them to "make" it true. And they do it all unconsciously.

asdfasgasdgasdg•about 10 hours ago

I have to assume some kind of dementia or mental instability on the part of the surgeon. Nobody in his right mind would behave this way.

bmitc•about 10 hours ago

I've seen suspicion and wondered myself if the guy is even who he says he is. He might not even be an actual surgeon. Apparently, he's killed at least two other people in similar cases.

As if this guy being a surgeon isn't scary enough, what's more scary is that the system allowed him to be practicing, allowed this surgery to happen (he was an hour late and the assigned staff had went home).

I almost wouldn't be surprised if he's an imposter, under the influence, and has some mental generation or instability _all at once_. That's about the only thing that would explain this. But it still doesn't explain away the systemic issues.