In 1985, a shocking medical error at Jackson Memorial Hospital turned a routine eye operation into a fatal tragedy. That year, Miami photographer Bob East, 64, died after a formaldehyde-like chemical was mistakenly injected into his spine during surgery, instead of his own cerebrospinal fluid.
The anesthesiologist, Dr. Anthony Gyamfi, was performing a standard procedure meant to ease pressure around East’s brain before his cancer surgery. East was scheduled to have his right eye and surrounding bone removed to treat cancer, but what followed became one of Florida’s most notorious cases of medical malpractice.
