A Florida surgeon allegedly removed a patient’s liver instead of his spleen during surgery, leading to the patient’s death on the operating table, according to a lawyer representing the deceased man’s widow.
William Bryan, 70, of Muscle Shoals, Alabama, underwent surgery on August 21 at Ascension Sacred Heart Emerald Coast hospital in Miramar, Florida, for spleen abnormalities. The procedure ended in tragedy when the operating surgeon, Dr. Thomas Shaknovsky, allegedly removed Bryan’s liver by mistake.
Joe Zarzaur, attorney for Bryan’s widow Beverly, stated that the surgeon “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 Walton County Sheriff’s Office, in coordination with the District 1 Medical Examiner’s Office and Office of the State Attorney, confirmed they are investigating the circumstances surrounding Bryan’s death.
According to Zarzaur, Shaknovsky initially told Beverly Bryan that her husband’s spleen was diseased and had grown to four times its normal size, moving to the other side of his body. However, Zarzaur pointed out that in a typical human body, the liver exists on the opposite side of the abdomen and is much larger than a spleen.
Ascension Sacred Heart Emerald Coast hospital released a statement saying they are “performing a thorough investigation” into Bryan’s death and take such allegations “very seriously.” The hospital emphasized that patient safety is their top priority but declined to comment on specific patient cases or active litigation.
Zarzaur alleges that Shaknovsky had made a similar mistake in 2023, removing portions of a pancreas instead of an adrenal gland in a case that was settled privately.
Beverly Bryan is pushing for both criminal and civil proceedings. “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,” she said through her attorney.
As of Wednesday afternoon, both Dr. Shaknovsky and Dr. Christopher Bacani, the hospital’s chief medical officer who was allegedly involved in discussions about Bryan’s treatment, still had active medical licenses according to the Florida Board of Medicine.
