Florida doctor removes wrong organ from patient, resulting in ‘immediate, catastrophic death’

An Alabama man died on a Florida operating table when a doctor mistakenly removed the his liver instead of his spleen during surgery, his widow’s lawyer alleges.

William Bryan was visiting the Florida panhandle last month when he suddenly began experiencing lower left abdominal pain. He and his wife, Beverly, went to the Ascension Sacred Heart Emerald Coast Hospital in Walton County.

Doctors were concerned about an abnormality in his spleen, according to the family lawyer. They admitted him for further testing.

General Surgeon Dr. Thomas Shaknovsky and Chief Medical Officer Dr. Christopher Bacani persuaded the 70-year-old Bryan to undergo surgery at the hospital or he “could experience serious complications if he left the hospital,” Zarzaur Law P.A. said Friday on Facebook.

Bryan underwent a hand-assisted laparoscopic splenectomy procedure on Aug. 21.

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In the middle of the surgery, Shaknovsky removed Bryan’s liver instead of the his spleen, the law firm alleges.

The surgical snafu resulted in “immediate and catastrophic blood loss resulting in death,” the post read.

After erroneously removing Bryan’s liver, the general surgeon labeled the organ as a “spleen,” which was only identified as a liver after the man’s death.

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Shaknovsky allegedly told Beverly Bryan that her husband’s “‘spleen’ was so diseased that it was four times bigger than usual and had migrated to the other side of (his) body,” the firm alleges.

Inside the human body, the liver is located on the upper right side of the abdominal cavity, just below the diaphragm, and above the stomach, right kidney, and intestines.

The spleen, located on the upper left side of the abdomen next to the stomach, is significantly smaller than the liver, between 1,100 and 1,400 grams lighter, and is roughly the size of a fist.

Zarzaur Law claims Dr. Shaknovsky had a previous “wrong-site surgery” back in 2023 where he supposedly removed a portion of a patient’s pancreas instead of performing an intended adrenal gland resection.

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That case was previously settled and the terms were not disclosed.

Beverly Bryan says she retained the law firm to get “justice” for her husband and is hoping the general surgeon no longer treats other patients.

“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,” the widow said in a statement through the law firm.

Beverly says she is pushing for both civil and criminal proceedings related to her husband’s death.

North Walton Doctor’s Hospital “disassociated” itself with Shaknovsky and have removed all photos and references to the doctor from its website, according to Zarzaur.

In a statement, Ascension Sacred Heart Emerald Coast Hospital said it was investigating Bryan’s death, but released no further details, citing confidentiality laws.

“We take allegations like this very seriously, and our leadership team is performing a thorough investigation into this event. Ascension Sacred Heart Emerald Coast has a longstanding history of providing safe, quality care since the hospital opened its doors in 2003,” the hospital said in statement obtained by AL.com. “Patient safety is and remains our number one priority. Our thoughts and prayers remain with the family. We hold the privacy of our patients in the highest regard. We do not comment on specific patient cases or active litigation.”

Following Bryan’s death, the medical examiner discovered an small cyst on his spleen, which is believed to be the cause of the pain he was initially hospitalized for.

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