Wife of man who ‘died after Dr. Thomas Shaknovsky removed wrong organ’ slams doctor’s history of ‘surgery mistakes’
A DOCTOR had a history of surgery mistakes before he removed the wrong organ from a patient, causing him to die on the operating table, the family's lawyer claims.
William Bryan, 70 started to experience abdominal pain last month while on a visit to his rental property with his wife Beverly in Okaloosa County, Florida.
Bryan went to Ascension Sacred Heart Emerald Coast Hospital on August 18 in Walton County, Florida where he was given tests with concerns about his spleen.
On August 21, Bryan was diagnosed with hemoperitoneum and splenic injury and was taken into surgery for a splenectomy, according to USA Today.
A splenectomy is a surgical procedure to remove the spleen, an organ that filters blood and fights infection.
General Surgeon Dr. Thomas Shaknovsky performed the surgery on Bryan after persuading the hesitant family with Dr. Christopher Bacani, the hospital’s Chief Medical Officer, to get it done, the family's lawyer claimed.
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During the surgery, Shaknovsky removed Bryan's liver instead of his spleen causing him to suffer massive blood loss which led to his death, according to the operative report.
Shaknovsky labeled the organ that was removed from Bryan as his spleen but it was discovered after his death it was his liver.
The liver is located on the upper right side of an individual's abdomen, below the diaphragm, and above the stomach, right kidney, and intestines.
A person's spleen is located on the upper left side of an individual's abdomen next to the stomach and is much smaller than the liver.
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Beverly reached out to Joe Zarzaur of Zarzaur Law Firm, located in Pensacola, Florida, to obtain justice for her husband's death.
The U.S. Sun has reached out to Zarzaur Law Firm regarding Bryan's case.
“My husband died while helpless on the operating room table by Dr. Shaknovsky," Beverly said in a statement released by the law firm.
"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."
Beverly will pursue both civil and criminal proceedings regarding her husband's death.
"I have the pleasure of representing Mrs. Bryan and her family. Unfortunately, we represent her in one of the most egregious cases of medical malpractice that I've ever been involved with," Zarzaur said during a news conference on Tuesday.
Ascension Sacred Heart Emerald Coast Hospital's full statement regarding William Bryan's death
Ascension Sacred Heart Emerald Coast Hospital has released a statement after William Bryan died at their hospital during a surgery.
“We take allegations like this very seriously, and our leadership team is performing a thorough investigation into this event.
"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. 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.”
Under Florida law, a six- to nine-month pre-suit process must take place before filing a formal medical malpractice lawsuit with the court, Zarzaur said.
Bryan's family and Zarzaur do intend to file a lawsuit, he said.
AUTOPSY FINDS SPLEEN IN BODY
An autopsy was performed on Bryan after his death.
The autopsy revealed that Bryan's liver was gone and his spleen was still in his body with a cyst attached to it, Zarzaur said.
"The spleen had a small cyst on it that had some hemorrhage around it, but it was not a fatal issue," Zarzaur claimed.
"It was a fairly routine-looking cyst. It probably would have been very treatable."
Meanwhile, Ascension Sacred Heart Emerald Coast Hospital has cut all ties with Shaknovsky.
The hospital has removed all photos and references to the doctor from its website, according to Zarzaur.
“We take allegations like this very seriously, and our leadership team is performing a thorough investigation into this event, the hospital said in a statement to The U.S. Sun.
"Ascension Sacred Heart Emerald Coast has a longstanding history of providing safe, quality care since the hospital opened its doors in 2003."
Ascension Sacred Heart Emerald Coast continued that patient safety is most important to them and sent their thoughts and prayers to Bryan's family.
They declined to comment on "specific patient cases or active litigation.”
This isn't the first time Shavnovsky has made an error during surgery.
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Shavnovsky previously had a “wrong-site surgery” back in 2023 where he reportedly removed a portion of a patient’s pancreas instead of performing the intended adrenal gland resection, Zarzaur claimed.
The case for that surgery was settled privately, according to Zarzaur.