On August 21, 2024, William “Bill” Bryan, a 70-year-old Alabama resident, passed away when a surgeon at Ascension Sacred Heart Emerald Coast Hospital in Miramar Beach, Florida mistakenly removed his liver instead of his spleen during a routine procedure.
While visiting their rental property in Destin, Florida Bryan and his wife Beverly sought medical help at Ascension Sacred Heart Hospital due to pain Bryan was experiencing in his left shoulder, neck, and side. Dr. Thomas Shaknovsky diagnosed Bryan with a ruptured and bleeding cyst surrounding his spleen.
Despite advice from Bryan’s regular physician in Alabama to transport him back for the surgery, Dr. Shaknovsky opted to perform the operation at the Emerald Coast Hospital. Beverly Bryan reported that Dr. Shaknovsky insisted that her husband would die from blood loss if he was moved.
Two days before their 34th wedding anniversary, on August 21, Dr. Shaknovsky conducted a hand-assisted laparoscopic procedure on Bryan with the intention of removing the spleen. Regrettably, Bryan’s liver was inadvertently removed during the operation, leading to massive blood loss.
The post-operative pathology report disclosed that the organ removed was indeed a liver, weighing four pounds and 10 ounces, not the spleen. As a result of the significant blood loss, Bryan suffered a cardiac arrest on the operating table and could not be revived.
Beverly Bryan, a retired nurse, voiced her shock and sorrow at her husband’s avoidable death. “Everyone knows you can’t live without a liver. It’s like taking somebody’s heart out,” she stated.
Following the procedure, Dr. Shaknovsky marked the removed organ as the “spleen” and sent it for pathological examination. According to reports, during post-surgery discussions and when communicating with Bryan’s wife, the surgeon believed he had excised a sick spleen that had shifted to the other side of Bryan’s body. However, a post-mortem study confirmed that Bryan’s spleen was still in place, with only a small cyst on it.
The Bryan family has engaged attorney Joe Zarzaur to pursue justice for William’s death. Zarzaur has initiated the preliminary steps for a possible civil lawsuit for medical malpractice, which, under Florida law, can take between six to nine months to complete.
Beverly Bryan conveyed her family’s mix of sorrow and anger over Bill’s death, attributing it to the doctor’s incompetence and Ascension Hospital’s negligence.
Concerns have been raised regarding Dr. Shaknovsky’s surgical track record. Medical records indicate a previous instance of wrong-site surgery by the doctor in 2023, when he wrongly removed part of a patient’s pancreas instead of an adrenal gland at the same hospital. The previous case was reportedly settled confidentially during the pre-suit process.
The Walton County Sheriff’s Office, in collaboration with the District 1 Medical Examiner’s Office and the Office of the State Attorney, is examining the case to determine if criminal charges are warranted. The investigation is ongoing, and authorities have requested public patience, emphasizing that such cases are highly intricate and require thorough investigation.
Ascension Sacred Heart Emerald Coast Hospital released a statement expressing its condolences and confirming its investigation into the incident. The statement included an assurance of the hospital’s commitment to taking appropriate actions once the investigation is completed.
Reports indicate that Dr. Shaknovsky has not faced criminal charges and had no public complaints with the Florida Department of Health regarding the previous incident. The attorney for Bryan’s family has expressed concern that the doctor may continue to practice and treat patients while the investigation is in progress.