A Florida surgeon charged with manslaughter after removing a patient's liver instead of his spleen has offered a startling explanation for the fatal error. Dr. Thomas Shaknovsky, 44, testified under oath that during the surgery on 70-year-old William Bryan, he became so distraught that he could not differentiate between the spleen and the liver.
The incident occurred on August 21 at Ascension Sacred Heart Emerald Coast Hospital. Bryan, from Muscle Shoals, Alabama, was visiting Florida with his wife Beverly when he sought treatment for stomach pain. Doctors, including Shaknovsky, recommended surgery to address an abnormality in his spleen.
According to court documents, Shaknovsky removed Bryan's liver instead of the spleen, causing massive bleeding that led to his death. The surgeon then allegedly labeled the removed organ as a spleen, a cover-up that was only discovered after the patient's death.
During a deposition in November, Shaknovsky explained that complications arose during the planned laparoscopic splenectomy. He said there was blood in Bryan's abdomen and an enlarged colon obstructed his view. At the same time, the surgical team was performing chest compressions to restart Bryan's heart.
“I can’t explain to you what it’s like for a surgeon to lose a patient on a table and how demoralizing it is and how devastating it is,” Shaknovsky said. “And I couldn’t tell the difference because I was so upset.”
He described the event as a devastating experience he will live with forever. “I think about it every single day,” he added. “That was an incredibly unfortunate event that I regret deeply, and I’m forever traumatized by it and hurt by it.”
Beverly Bryan filed a wrongful death and malpractice lawsuit against Shaknovsky. The suit alleges that the doctor convinced her husband to undergo surgery, then removed the wrong organ, causing immediate and catastrophic blood loss. It also claims Shaknovsky tried to deceive her by saying the spleen was four times its normal size and had migrated to the other side of Bryan's body.
Authorities arrested Shaknovsky last month while he was working as a Lyft driver. He faces second-degree manslaughter charges, accusing him of making a series of fatal errors: switching from laparoscopic to open surgery due to poor visibility, cutting and stapling vessels around the liver, and failing to call for backup during the emergency. He also allegedly mislabeled the organ to cover up his mistake.
Shaknovsky has since lost his medical license. If convicted, he could face up to 15 years in prison.
