Patient dies in Florida after liver removed instead of spleen: lawyers

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A patient has died after a surgeon allegedly removed his liver instead of his spleen during an operation in Florida last month.

The widow of William Bryan said she doesn’t want anyone else to die due to the doctor’s incompetence, in a statement through her lawyers.

“My husband died while helpless on the operating room table,” she said.

Bryan, 70, and his wife Beverly were at their rental property in the northwestern part of the state when William “suddenly began experiencing left-sided flank pain,” according to a news release by Florida law firm Zarzaur Law, P.A.

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He was admitted to Ascension Sacred Heart Emerald Coast Hospital in Walton County. He received tests that were associated with an “abnormality of the spleen,” the law firm said. The hospital’s chief medical officer Dr. Christopher Bacani and general surgeon Dr. Thomas Shaknovsky allegedly told William that there could be complications if he left the hospital.

The 70-year-old did not want to undergo surgery but was “persuaded,” the firm said, and the procedure was done on Aug. 21.

During the operation, Shaknovsky removed Bryan’s liver, “causing immediate and catastrophic blood loss resulting in death,” the firm alleged. The firm also alleged that Shaknovsky mislabeled the organ as “spleen” when it was removed from the body. He allegedly told Beverly that the “spleen” was four times bigger than usual because it was diseased, and had migrated to the other side of her husband’s body.

“Typical human anatomy dictates that the liver naturally exists on the opposite side of the abdominal cavity, and it is several times larger than the spleen,” according to the law firm.

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“The family was informed that Mr. Bryan’s spleen, the root of his original symptom profile upon presentation to the hospital, was still in his body and appeared with a small cyst on its surface.”

The hospital “should have known or knew he had previously made drastic, life-altering surgical mistakes,” said Beverly, in the statement through her lawyer.

The hospital said it was investigating Bryan’s death, NBC News reported.

“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,” per the statement.

Authorities are also investigating to “determine if anything criminal took place,” the Walton County Sheriff’s Office told NBC News.

Shaknovsky did not immediately respond to a request for comment via the hospital.

According to the law firm, this was not the first time Shaknovsky has made a similar mistake. In 2023, he was accused of mistakenly removing “a portion of a patient’s pancreas,” Zarzaur said. The case was settled privately.

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It was not immediately clear if Shaknovsky was currently working as a surgeon at the Ascension Sacred Heart Emerald Coast Hospital. In a post on X Tuesday, lawyer Joe Zarzaur said it was possible Shaknovsky was still seeing patients.

“From a legal standpoint, I’m not sure you should have any procedures…with Dr. Shaknovsky until perhaps you’ve had a second opinion,” he said in a video.

“I certainly would caution anybody that’s planning to have surgery with him, from a legal perspective — it probably makes sense for you to get a second opinion.”

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