A surgeon accidentally killed a patient by removing his liver instead of his spleen, a lawsuit has claimed.
Beverly Bryan is suing Florida’s Ascension Sacred Heart Emerald Coast Hospital and Dr. Thomas Shaknovsky regarding the death of her 70-year-old husband, Bill Bryan.
Newsweek sought email comment from Dr. Shaknovsky on Tuesday.
According to a statement by Beverly Bryan’s Pensacola-based attorney, Joe Zarzaur, the couple, from Muscle Shoals, Alabama, were visiting their rental property in Okaloosa County, Florida,when Bill Bryan suddenly began experiencing pain on his left side.
Bill Bryan, who died during emergency spleen surgery, and his wife Beverly.
They went to Sacred Heart, where Dr. Shaknovsky told them that Bill Bryan needed urgent surgery.
“On August 21, 2024, Dr. Shaknovsky proceeded with a hand-assisted laparoscopic splenectomy procedure,” the statement reads.
“During this operation, Dr. Shaknovsky removed Mr. Bryan’s liver and, in so doing, transected the major vasculature supplying the liver, causing immediate and catastrophic blood loss resulting in death.”
“The surgeon proceeded with labeling the removed liver specimen as a ‘spleen’ and it wasn’t until following the death that it was identified that the organ removed was actually Mr. Bryan’s liver, as opposed to the spleen.”
“The surgeon told Mrs. Bryan after the procedure that the “spleen” was so diseased that it was four times bigger than usual and had migrated to the other side of Mr. Bryan’s body,” the statement alleges.
The family was later informed that Bill Bryan’s spleen was still in his body and appeared with a small cyst on its surface, according to the statement.
“Perhaps most concerning is that Dr. Shaknovsky had a previous wrong-site surgery in 2023 where he mistakenly removed a portion of a patient’s pancreas instead of performing the intended adrenal gland resection,” the statement says.
Newsweek has not been able to independently verify the claim.
“That case was settled in confidence, and Dr. Shaknovsky remained a surgeon at Ascension Sacred Heart Emerald Coast Hospital as recently as August 2024. It is uncertain whether he continues to have privileges at Ascension Sacred Heart Emerald Coast Hospital or other area facilities,” it adds.
Beverly Bryan is now pursuing both criminal and civil cases.
“My husband died while helpless on the operating room table [of] Dr. Shaknovsky,” she said in a statement.
Ascension Medical Group told Newsweek in a statement: “Our thoughts and prayers are with the family. Sacred Heart Emerald Coast’s leadership is investigating this matter.”
There has been considerable debate this year as to whether Florida law makes it too difficult for families to sue doctors for emotional damage when a loved one dies.
There was an attempt in February to repeal a law that prevents pain and suffering lawsuits against doctors when an adult patient dies. The law applies only to adult patients and adult family members.
The measure was defeated in the state legislature in March.
