Florida surgeon mistakenly removes patient's liver instead of spleen causing him to die, says family

• A man in Florida has died after his surgeon removed the wrong organ, his family have claimed.
• 70-year-old William Bryan was supposed to have his spleen removed, with the surgeon reported to have mistakenly removing his liver instead.
• Bryan and his wife Beverly, who are from Alabama had been visiting their rental property in Florida when he started to develop ‘left-sided flank pain’.

A Florida surgeon mistakenly removed the wrong organ of a patient causing him to die on the operating table according to the family’s attorney.

William Bryan, 70, was visiting a rental property in Florida on August 19 with his wife Beverly, when he began to develop “left-sided flank pain”. The couple sought medical attention at the nearby Ascension Sacred Heart Emerald Coast Hospital in Walton County.

According to their lawyer, Joe Zarzaur, of Zarzaur Law, Bryan was admitted for further studies due to a “concern for an abnormality of the spleen”. The family reluctantly agreed to surgery after being “persuaded” by Dr Thomas Shaknovsky, General Surgeon, and Dr Christopher Bacani, Chief Medical Officer after they were told Bryan could develop “serious complications” if he left the hospital.

Bryan was due to have a splenectomy, to remove his spleen, however during the procedure, the surgeon mistakenly removed his liver, cutting a major artery, causing “immediate and catastrophic” blood loss resulting in Bryan’s death, Zarzaur Law said in a statement.

The surgeon then labelled the removed liver as a “spleen”, telling Bryan’s widow the the “spleen” was so diseased it was four times bigger than usual and had “migrated to the other side of Mr Bryan’s body”.

In a press briefing on September 3, Zarzaur Law explained that it was only after a post-mortem examination that it was discovered his liver had been removed, with his spleen found still intact with a cyst.

This is not the first time that the surgeon, Dr Shaknovsky has been involved in a wrong-site-surgery. The last incident happened in 2023, when he mistakenly removed a “portion of a patient’s pancreas” instead of performing an adrenal gland resection. The case was settled in confidence, with the surgeon remaining at the hospital up until August 2024.

The death is being investigated by the Walton County Sheriff's Office, in coordination with other authorities, NBC have reported. In a statement shared by her attorney, Bryan’s widow said: “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.”

Joe Zarzaur, of Zarzaur Law commented: “Our goal at Zarzaur Law is to get justice for the Bryan family and make our community safer one case at a time. While most doctors are doing excellent work to keep us healthy, there is a small percentage that should not be practicing medicine.”

In response to the claims, Ascension Sacred Heart Emerald Coast hospital said in a statement on Wednesday (September 4), that it is "performing a thorough investigation" into Bryan's death and is taking the allegation “very seriously”.

The statement reads: "Ascension Sacred Heart Emerald Coast has a longstanding history of providing safe, quality care since the hospital opened its doors in 2003. Patient safety is and remains our number one priority.”

Adding: “Our thoughts and prayers remain with the family. We hold the privacy of our patients in the highest regard. We do not comment on specific patient cases or active litigation."

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