A tragic incident unfolded in Florida when a 70-year-old Alabama man, William Bryan, died on the operating table after a surgeon mistakenly removed his liver instead of his spleen. Bryan, who was visiting a rental property in Okaloosa County, Florida, with his wife Beverly, was admitted to Ascension Sacred Heart Emerald Coast Hospital in Walton County due to lower left abdominal pain. The pain was suspected to be caused by a spleen abnormality.
On August 21, 2024, Bryan’s life was abruptly ended during a surgical procedure. The legal team at Zarzaur Law P.A., representing Bryan’s widow, alleges that Dr. Thomas Shaknovsky, a general surgeon, and Dr. Christopher Bacani, the hospital’s Chief Medical Officer, persuaded the family that Bryan required surgery to prevent serious complications.
Bryan consented to a hand-assisted laparoscopic splenectomy procedure. However, during the operation, Shaknovsky mistakenly removed Bryan’s liver, leading to immediate and catastrophic blood loss, which resulted in Bryan’s death. The surgeon misidentified the removed organ as a spleen, a mistake that was only discovered after Bryan’s death.
Shaknovsky reportedly informed Beverly Bryan that her husband’s spleen was diseased and had grown four times its normal size, even migrating to the other side of his body. In reality, the liver is located on the upper right side of the abdominal cavity, while the spleen is on the upper left side and is significantly smaller than the liver.
The law firm also alleges that this is not Shaknovsky’s first involvement in a “wrong-site surgery.” In 2023, he allegedly removed a portion of a patient’s pancreas instead of the intended adrenal gland resection. That case was settled confidentially.
Beverly Bryan has engaged Zarzaur Law P.A. to seek justice for her husband’s death and hopes that Shaknovsky will no longer be allowed to treat patients. She is pursuing both civil and criminal proceedings related to her husband’s death.
North Walton Doctor’s Hospital has since distanced itself from Shaknovsky, removing all references to him from its website. Ascension Sacred Heart Emerald Coast Hospital is investigating Bryan’s death but has not released further information. After Bryan’s death, a small cyst was found on his spleen, believed to be the cause of his initial pain.