A 70-year-old man from Alabama died on the operating table after a surgeon mistakenly removed his liver instead of his spleen, according to the family’s lawyer, who says there’s evidence that this is not the first time the doctor has removed the wrong organ during surgery.
“Every once and a while we get a case where the facts are so egregious and dangerous to the local public that we feel like we should stop what we’re doing and put out a public service announcement,” lawyer Joe Zarzaur said. “This is one of those situations.”
Zarzaur is representing the family of William Bryan, a resident of Muscle Shoals, Ala., who died in a Florida hospital after he was allegedly convinced by Dr. Thomas Shaknovsky to get his spleen removed, only for the surgeon to take out the wrong organ.
Bryan and his wife Beverly were visiting their rental property on Florida’s northern coast when he suddenly began experiencing abdominal pain on the left side, Zarzaur’s law firm wrote in a press release. Bryan was admitted to Ascension Sacred Heart Emerald Coast Hospital in Miramar Beach and was advised to go under the knife for a laparoscopic splenectomy procedure.
The family was “reluctant” to go forward with the surgery in Florida, but they were eventually persuaded by Shaknovsky, a general surgeon, and Dr. Christopher Bacani, the chief medical officer of the hospital. The two doctors convinced the family that Bryan “could experience serious complications if he left the hospital,” the law firm writes.
During the operation on Aug. 21, Shaknovsky removed Bryan’s liver instead of his spleen, according to a surgical pathology report obtained by the family’s lawyer and shared with media outlets. When an autopsy was conducted on Bryan’s body, his spleen was still in his abdomen and his liver was gone.
When Bryan’s liver was removed, the major blood vessels supplying the critically important organ were severed. The 70-year-old bled out on the operating table and died.
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After the surgery, Shaknovsky told Bryan’s widow 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, Zarzaur’s law firm writes.
The liver is usually much larger than the spleen and is located in the upper-right portion of the abdominal cavity, while the spleen is in the upper left.
A pathologist at the hospital later realized that the removed organ labelled “spleen” was actually a liver. Dr. Robert Blanchard wrote in his surgical pathology report that the liver was “grossly identifiable” and partly torn, according to the Miami Herald.
During Bryan’s autopsy, after the error was discovered, a medical examiner found a small cyst on the surface of his spleen.
“The spleen had a small cyst on it that had some hemorrhage around it, but it was not a fatal issue,” Zarzaur told USA Today. “It was a fairly routine-looking cyst. It probably would have been very treatable.”
Zarzaur says he has also found evidence of a case involving Shaknovsky that was settled in confidence after he mistakenly removed a portion of a patient’s pancreas instead of performing the intended adrenal gland resection. The incident allegedly took place in 2023 and Shaknovsky remained as a surgeon at Ascension Sacred Heart Emerald Coast Hospital afterwards.
Bryan’s widow is calling for justice for her husband and wants to warn other prospective patients about Shaknovsky.
“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 wrote in a statement.
A criminal case is also in the works looking into Bryan’s death. The Walton County Sheriff’s Office is leading the investigation and, so far, no charges have been filed.
“Our agency asks for the public’s patience as these cases are extremely complex and take time to investigate,” the sheriff’s office stated.
A spokesperson for Ascension hospital says it is taking the allegations against Shaknovsky “very seriously” and its leadership team is “performing a thorough investigation into this event.”
“Patient safety is and remains our number one priority. Our thoughts and prayers remain with the family.”
A formal lawsuit against the hospital has not yet been filed by Bryan’s family and its lawyers. Zarzaur says that in the state of Florida, a six- to nine-month pre-suit process must take place before a medical malpractice lawsuit is formally filed. The family intends to file when they can, but Zarzaur states that he and the Bryan family are raising awareness about the case because Shaknovsky is still practicing medicine.
“The concern for me and the reason why I felt a press release was necessary was that this doctor was still treating patients, and apparently still had access to hospitals and operating rooms, which I don’t think he should,” Zarzaur said.
“Mrs. Bryan obviously doesn’t feel like he should ever step foot in a hospital or operating room ever again.”
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