An Alabama husband died on an operating table in Florida when doctors mistakenly removed the man’s liver during surgery and the surgeon tried to pass the organ off as an “enlarged spleen,” according to an attorney representing the man’s widow.
William Bryan and his wife Beverly were visiting their rental property in Okaloosa County, Florida last month when he suddenly began to feel pain in his left lower abdomen.
The 70-year-old resident of Muscle Shoals, Alabama, went to Ascension Sacred Heart Emerald Coast Hospital in Walton County, where he was admitted for further testing due to concerns about a spleen abnormality, Zarzaur Law PA said on Facebook Friday.
General surgeon Dr. Thomas Shaknovsky and Dr. Christopher Bacani, the hospital’s chief medical officer, persuaded the reluctant family to have Bryan undergone surgery at the hospital because otherwise “he could face serious complications if he leaves the hospital,” according to the law firm.
Bryan agreed with the doctors and underwent a hand-assisted laparoscopic splenectomy on August 21.
In the middle of the operation, Shaknovsky removed Bryan’s liver by severing the main vessel that supplies the liver
The surgical incision resulted in “immediate and catastrophic blood loss, resulting in death,” the post said.
After general surgeon Bryan mistakenly removed his liver, he referred to the organ as a “spleen.” It was only after the man’s death that the organ was identified as a liver.
Shaknovsky subsequently explained to Beverly Bryan that her husband’s “spleen was so diseased that it was four times larger than normal and had migrated to the other side of his body.”
In the human body, the liver is located in the upper right part of the abdominal cavity, directly below the diaphragm and above the stomach, right kidney and intestines.
The spleen, located in the left upper abdomen next to the stomach, is significantly smaller than the liver, weighing between 1,100 and 1,400 grams lighter and is about the size of a fist.
Zarzaur Law claims that Dr. Shaknovsky underwent a “wrong-site surgery” back in 2023, in which he allegedly removed part of a patient’s pancreas instead of performing the planned adrenalectomy.
This case was settled confidentially.
Beverly Bryan hired the law firm to seek “justice” for her husband and hopes that the general surgeon will stop treating other patients.
“My husband died while lying helpless on Dr. Shaknovsky’s operating table. I do not want anyone else to die in a hospital due to his incompetence when he should have known or knew that he had previously made drastic, life-altering surgical errors,” the widow said in a statement through the law firm.
Beverly Bryan says she is pushing for civil and criminal justice in connection with her husband’s death.
According to Zarzaur, North Walton Doctor’s Hospital has “distanced itself” from Shaknovsky and removed all photos and references to the doctor from its website.
Ascension Sacred Heart Emerald Coast Hospital said Bryan’s death was under investigation but declined to release further information.
“We take allegations of this nature very seriously, and our leadership team is conducting a thorough investigation of this incident. Ascension Sacred Heart Emerald Coast has a long tradition of providing safe, high-quality care since opening in 2003,” the hospital said in a statement provided to AL.com. “Patient safety has always been and will always be our top priority. Our thoughts and prayers are with the family. The privacy of our patients is our highest priority. We do not comment on specific patient cases or ongoing litigation.”
After William Bryan’s death, a small cyst was discovered on his spleen, which was probably the cause of the pain that led to him being hospitalized.
