US Man, 70, Dies After Doctor Removes Wrong Organ; Lawsuit Filed

A 70-year-old man in the United States, identified as William Bryan, died on the operating table after a surgeon mistakenly removed the wrong organ during surgery. Bryan and his wife, Beverly, were visiting their rental property in Florida last month when he suddenly experienced severe lower left abdominal pain. They went to Ascension Sacred Heart Emerald Coast Hospital, where he was admitted to investigate an issue with his spleen.

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Despite initial concerns, doctors persuaded Bryan to undergo surgery, citing potential serious complications if he left the hospital. He agreed and underwent a hand-assisted laparoscopic splenectomy procedure in August. However, the operation ended tragically when the surgeon, Dr. Thomas Shaknovsky, removed Bryan’s liver instead of the spleen.

According to a statement from Zarzaur Law, which represents Bryan’s widow, Dr. Shaknovsky and the hospital’s Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Christopher Bacani, convinced the family of the need for the surgery. During the operation, Dr. Shaknovsky mistakenly removed Bryan’s liver by severing the major blood vessels supplying it, leading to catastrophic blood loss and Bryan's death. The surgeon reportedly attempted to mislabel the removed liver as an "enlarged spleen," a mistake that was only corrected after Bryan's death.

The law firm’s statement detailed that the surgeons informed Bryan’s wife that her husband’s "spleen" was diseased and significantly enlarged, having migrated to the opposite side of his body. They assured her that Bryan’s actual spleen remained in place with a small cyst on its surface. Notably, the liver and spleen are distinct organs located on different sides of the abdomen, with the liver on the upper right and the spleen on the upper left, making such a mix-up particularly alarming.

The law firm also highlighted a troubling detail: Dr. Shaknovsky had previously been involved in a "wrong-site surgery" in 2023, where he removed a portion of a patient's pancreas instead of performing the intended adrenal gland resection.

Beverly Bryan, seeking justice for her husband, has retained the law firm to pursue both civil and criminal proceedings. She expressed her desire to prevent others from suffering similar fates due to alleged surgical incompetence. "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 stated through the law firm.

In response, North Walton Doctor’s Hospital has disassociated itself from Dr. Shaknovsky and removed all references to him from its website. Ascension Sacred Heart Emerald Coast Hospital has announced that it is investigating the circumstances surrounding Bryan’s death.

Sept. 4, 2024 1:30 p.m. 407

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