Florida doctor mistakenly removes liver instead of spleen, causing death

William Bryan, an Alabama resident, died during a surgical procedure at Ascension Sacred Heart Emerald Coast Hospital in Florida on August 21. He was undergoing a hand-assisted laparoscopic splenectomy due to lower left abdominal pain, which was later attributed to a small cyst on his spleen. Dr. Thomas Shaknovsky, the general surgeon, mistakenly removed Bryan's liver instead of the spleen, leading to catastrophic blood loss and immediate death. The surgeon attempted to misrepresent the removed organ as an enlarged spleen, claiming it was diseased and had migrated. This misidentification was only clarified after Bryan's death. The incident raised serious concerns about the surgeon's competence, as he had a prior record of a wrong-site surgery in 2023, where he removed a portion of a patient's pancreas instead of the intended adrenal gland. Beverly Bryan, the deceased's widow, has retained legal representation to seek justice for her husband's death, expressing her desire to prevent future incidents involving Dr. Shaknovsky. She is pursuing both civil and criminal proceedings against the surgeon and the hospital, emphasizing the need for accountability in medical practices. Ascension Sacred Heart Emerald Coast Hospital has stated that it is conducting a thorough investigation into the incident, maintaining that patient safety is their top priority. The hospital has a history of providing quality care since its establishment in 2003, but the tragic outcome of this surgery has raised significant concerns about the standards of care and oversight in surgical procedures.