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

An Alabama husband died on a Florida operating table when the doctor mistakenly removed the man’s liver during surgery before the surgeon attempted to pass off the organ as an “enlarged spleen,” according to a lawyer representing the man’s widow.

William Bryan and his wife Beverly were visiting their rental property in Okaloosa County, Florida last month when he suddenly began experiencing lower left abdominal pain.

The 70-year-old Muscle Shoals, AL resident went to Ascension Sacred Heart Emerald Coast Hospital in Walton County, where he was admitted for further tests over concerns about an abnormality of the spleen, Zarzaur Law P.A. said Friday on Facebook.

General Surgeon Dr. Thomas Shaknovsky and Dr. Christopher Bacani, the hospital’s Chief Medical Officer, persuaded the reluctant family for Bryan to undergo surgery at the hospital or he “could experience serious complications if he left the hospital,” the law firm claims.

Bryan agreed with the doctors and underwent a hand-assisted laparoscopic splenectomy procedure on Aug. 21.

In the middle of the surgery, Shaknovsky removed Bryan’s liver by transecting the major vasculature supplying the liver

The surgical cut 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.

Shaknovsky proceeded to explain to 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.”

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 the intended adrenal gland resection.

That case was settled in confidence.

Beverly Bryan 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 Bryan 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.

Ascension Sacred Heart Emerald Coast Hospital said it was investigating Bryan’s death but wouldn’t share more information.

“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 William Bryan’s death, an apparent small cyst was discovered on his spleen which is believed to be the cause of the pain he was hospitalized for.