Wife of man who ‘died after Dr. Thomas Shaknovsky removed wrong organ’ slams doctor’s history of ‘surgery mistakes’
By Matthew Aquino,
2024-09-04
A DOCTOR had a history of surgery mistakes before he removed the wrong organ from a patient, causing him to die on the operating table, the family’s lawyer claims.
William Bryan, 70 started to experience abdominal pain last month while on a visit to his rental property with his wife Beverly in Okaloosa County, Florida .
Ascension Sacred Heart Emerald Coast Hospital located in Pensacola, Florida Google Maps Mr. William Bryan and his wife Beverly, of Muscle Shoals, Alabama, pictured above Zarzaur Law P.A.
On August 21, Bryan was diagnosed with hemoperitoneum and splenic injury and was taken into surgery for a splenectomy, according to USA Today .
A splenectomy is a surgical procedure to remove the spleen, an organ that filters blood and fights infection.
General Surgeon Dr. Thomas Shaknovsky performed the surgery on Bryan after persuading the hesitant family with Dr. Christopher Bacani, the hospital’s Chief Medical Officer, to get it done, the family’s lawyer claimed.
During the surgery , Shaknovsky removed Bryan’s liver instead of his spleen causing him to suffer massive blood loss which led to his death, according to the operative report .
Shaknovsky labeled the organ that was removed from Bryan as his spleen but it was discovered after his death it was his liver.
The liver is located on the upper right side of an individual’s abdomen, below the diaphragm, and above the stomach, right kidney, and intestines.
A person’s spleen is located on the upper left side of an individual’s abdomen next to the stomach and is much smaller than the liver.
Beverly reached out to Joe Zarzaur of Zarzaur Law Firm, located in Pensacola, Florida, to obtain justice for her husband’s death.
The U.S. Sun has reached out to Zarzaur Law Firm regarding Bryan’s case.
“My husband died while helpless on the operating room table by Dr. Shaknovsky,” Beverly said in a statement released by the law firm.
“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.”
Beverly will pursue both civil and criminal proceedings regarding her husband’s death.
“I have the pleasure of representing Mrs. Bryan and her family. Unfortunately, we represent her in one of the most egregious cases of medical malpractice that I’ve ever been involved with,” Zarzaur said during a news conference on Tuesday.
Ascension Sacred Heart Emerald Coast Hospital's full statement regarding William Bryan's death
Ascension Sacred Heart Emerald Coast Hospital has released a statement after William Bryan died at their hospital during a surgery.
“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.
“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.”
Under Florida law, a six- to nine-month pre-suit process must take place before filing a formal medical malpractice lawsuit with the court, Zarzaur said.
Bryan’s family and Zarzaur do intend to file a lawsuit, he said.
AUTOPSY FINDS SPLEEN IN BODY
An autopsy was performed on Bryan after his death.
The autopsy revealed that Bryan’s liver was gone and his spleen was still in his body with a cyst attached to it, Zarzaur said.
“The spleen had a small cyst on it that had some hemorrhage around it, but it was not a fatal issue,” Zarzaur claimed.
“It was a fairly routine-looking cyst. It probably would have been very treatable.”
Meanwhile, Ascension Sacred Heart Emerald Coast Hospital has cut all ties with Shaknovsky.
The hospital has removed all photos and references to the doctor from its website, according to Zarzaur.
“We take allegations like this very seriously, and our leadership team is performing a thorough investigation into this event, the hospital said in a statement to The U.S. Sun.
“Ascension Sacred Heart Emerald Coast has a longstanding history of providing safe, quality care since the hospital opened its doors in 2003.”
Ascension Sacred Heart Emerald Coast continued that patient safety is most important to them and sent their thoughts and prayers to Bryan’s family.
They declined to comment on “specific patient cases or active litigation.”
This isn’t the first time Shavnovsky has made an error during surgery.
Shavnovsky previously had a “wrong-site surgery” back in 2023 where he reportedly removed a portion of a patient’s pancreas instead of performing the intended adrenal gland resection, Zarzaur claimed.
The case for that surgery was settled privately, according to Zarzaur.
This is not an allegation but a fact ! The gentleman died because his liver instead of his spleen was wrongly removed! Devastating for the family but also for that ‘quack’.
MoMMa Crazy Cat
09-07
If the doctor was a good human being he would voluntarily give up his licence. Sorry Sue and the rest of his family and friends my heart really is sad for you all. No amount of money is going to bring this man back or heal Sues broken heart. But take everything he has and the hospital and team involved all of them should be held accountable!
Get updates delivered to you daily. Free and customizable.
It’s essential to note our commitment to transparency:
Our Terms of Use acknowledge that our services may not always be error-free, and our Community Standards emphasize our discretion in enforcing policies. As a platform hosting over 100,000 pieces of content published daily, we cannot pre-vet content, but we strive to foster a dynamic environment for free expression and robust discourse through safety guardrails of human and AI moderation.
Local News
