A Florida doctor has been accused of killing a patient after removing the wrong organ during a recent surgery.
According to Florida’s personal injury legal firm, Zarzaur Law, the patient, Muscle Shoals, AL. resident William Bryan began to experience lower left abdominal pain while he and his wife Beverly were visiting their rental property in Okaloosa County, Florida last month.
Bryan decided to go to Ascension Sacred Heart Emerald Coast Hospital in Walton County. He was then admitted for further testing due to concerns about the abnormality of his spleen.
Zarzaur Law stated in a Facebook post that General Surgeon Dr. Thomas Shaknovsky and Dr. Christopher Bacani, the hospital’s Chief Medical Officer, allegedly persuaded Bryan and his family to undergo surgery. They said he could “experience serious complications if he were to leave the hospital.”
Bryan listened to the doctors and had the hand-assisted laparoscopic splenectomy procedure on Aug. 21. However, the Florida doctor, identified as Dr. Thomas Shaknovsky, ended up removing the wrong organ. Instead of the spleen, he took Bryan’s liver by transecting the major vasculature supplying the organ.
The mistake resulted in what is described as an “immediate and catastrophic blood loss resulting in death.”
However, the incident didn’t just stop at the surgery. After removing the liver, Dr. Shaknovsky labeled the organ as a “spleen,” which was only identified as a liver following the patient’s death.
Dr. Shaknovsky then told Bryan’s wife that his “spleen” was so diseased that it was four times bigger than usual. He also claimed the organ had migrated to the other side of his body.
The spleen is located on the upper left side of the abdomen next to the stomach. It is significantly smaller than the liver, and typically the size of a fist.
The Florida Doctor Accused of Removing the Wrong Organ Had a ‘Wrong-Site Surgery’ in 2023
Zarzaur Law also revealed that Dr. Shaknovsky had a “wrong-site surgery” back in 2023. He had removed a portion of a patient’s pancreas instead of performing the intended adrenal gland resection.
The case, in which Zarzaur Law represented Bryan’s family, was quickly settled in confidence. North Walton Doctor’s Hospital also officially disassociated itself with Dr. Shaknovsky, removing him from all media.
In a statement through the law firm, Beverly wrote, “My husband died while helpless on the operating room table by Dr. Shaknovsky. I don’t want anyone else to die due to his incompetence at a hospital that should have known or knew he had previously made drastic, life-altering surgical mistakes.”
She then added that she is pushing for both civil and criminal proceedings related to her late husband’s death.
Ascension Sacred Heart Emerald Coast Hospital stated it was investigating Bryan’s death. However, it wouldn’t share more information.