Florida doctor accused of fatally removing wrong organ from patient has license suspended
A Florida doctor who is accused of removing an Alabama man’s liver instead of the spleen, resulting in “immediate and catastrophic death,” had his medical license suspended.
In an emergency order filed Sept. 24, Florida Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo accused Thomas J. Shaknovsky of “repeated egregious surgical errors” and “egregious conduct of fabricating medical records” in the Aug. 21 death of 70-year-old William Bryan.
Shaknovsky was a practicing Osteopathic Physician at Ascension Sacred Heart Emerald Coast Hospital before the tragedy.
Bryan and his wife Beverly were visiting the Florida panhandle from their home in Muscle Shoals, Ala. when he began experiencing lower left abdominal pain.
The couple went to the hospital in Miramar Beach — which is between Pensacola and Panama City — where doctors were concerned about an abnormality of the spleen and they admitted him for further testing as Bryan declined “surgical intervention.”
Imaging revealed a suspected enlarged spleen and blood in the peritoneum with no active hemorrhage, according to the document.
Shaknovsky allegedly recommended that Bryan undergo a laparoscopic splenectomy on three consecutive days, with the patient refusing and wishing to go back to Alabama, but the doctor persisted, according to the order of emergency suspension viewed by The Post.
Bryan eventually relented to the doctor’s request who cited a decline in hemoglobin, but the order noted the decrease was only marginal over the three-day hospital stay.
Shaknovsky scheduled the “complicated procedure” for 4 p.m. on Aug. 21, with the operating room staff noting the surgery was being done by a “skeletal staff,” and the doctor couldn’t operate.
“Staff had concerns that Dr. Shaknovsky did not have the skill level to safely perform this procedure,” the surgeon general’s order noted.
The operation began but Shaknovsky quickly elected to convert to an open procedure citing poor visibility due to Bryan’s “distended colon and blood in the abdomen.”
It was revealed that Shaknovsky did not document the colon as part of his decision to change surgeries.
The doctor claims he started to dissect ligaments attached to the spleen, but was revealed to be the liver.
He then found and identified a vessel he intended to cut, claiming he could feel it pulsing under his finger, saying, “that’s scary.”
Shaknovsky used a surgical stapling device to fire a staple into the vessel resulting in a severe hemorrhage where Bryan went into cardiac arrest.
Staff began suctioning out blood and performing an emergency blood transfusion as a “code” was called and operating staff began CPR.
While staff worked to revive Bryan, Shaknovsky continued dissecting inside the abdomen, not asking for assistance where he removed a 4.6-pound liver.
“The staff looked at the readily identifiable liver on the table and were shocked when Dr. Shaknovsky told them it was the spleen. One staff member ‘felt sick to their stomach,'” a witness in the operating room said.
Bryan was pronounced dead as Shaknovsky said he died of a splenic artery aneurysm.
The doctor allegedly requested staff to label the liver as a “spleen” and send it to pathology.
The person who labeled the organ knew it wasn’t a spleen but followed instructions anyway, the order reported.
Shaknovsky left the operating room, only to return three times, with each visit the doctor stating Bryan died because of a splenic artery aneurysm
“The staff in the room felt that Dr. Shaknovsky was attempting to convince them that this is what occurred, even though they witnessed something different.”
Ladapo found Bryan’s death was not because of one mistake Shaknovsky made.
“Dr. Shaknovsky’s misidentification of the liver was not a momentary mistake,” the order found. “Despite converting to an open procedure to increase visibility, he dissected the liver, cutting the individual attachments to the abdomen.
“Each attachment that was severed was another opportunity for Dr. Shaknovsky to recognize that he was handling the completely wrong organ due to the anatomical differences between spleens and livers,”
“Despite having ample opportunity to realize his mistake and keep looking for the spleen, Dr. Shaknovsky failed to do so.”
Ladapo argued that any restriction of protecting the public must also include “complete restriction from performing general surgery.”
“Dr. Shaknovsky’s blatant disregard for the truth, falsification of an operative report, and attempt to convince OR staff to acquiesce to his version of events is a breach of the public trust. Dr. Shaknovsky’s dishonesty cannot be contained to only operative reports; it colors every aspect of the practice of osteopathic medicine.
The public must be able to trust that Dr. Shaknovsky’s description of patient care, whether that is in an emergency room, clinic, or primary care practice, is true. That trust is irrevocably broken. Therefore, there is no restriction that can adequately protect the public from an osteopathic physician who is willing to lie and pressure others to lie on their behalf,” the order stated.
The order also included a surgery from May 2023 where Shaknovsky removed a portion of a patient’s pancreas instead of the left adrenal gland resulting in “long-term, permanent harm.”
Bryan’s death was ruled a homicide due to “liver removed during splenectomy,” Zarzaur Law P.A., the family’s lawyers said on Facebook.
“This news is devastating for the healthcare industry, as the operating room is meant to be a place of the highest level of patient care,” the law firm wrote.
Bryan’s family is expected to file a malpractice lawsuit at the appropriate time.
