Thomas Shaknovsky, a general surgeon at Ascension Sacred Heart Emerald Coast Hospital, allegedly made a fatal surgical error in August after mistakenly removing the liver of a 70-year-old patient from Alabama during a scheduled splenectomy, leading to the patient’s death.
The patient, William Bryan, was visiting their rental property in Okaloosa County along with his family when he began experiencing severe pain in the stomach. He was admitted to Shaknovsky's hospital after an abnormality of the spleen was found. Bryan and his family were convinced by Shaknovsky and Dr. Christopher Bacani, the hospital's Chief Medical Officer, that immediate surgery was necessary.
During the hand-assisted procedure, Shaknovsky allegedly erroneously removed Bryan’s liver instead of the spleen. The mistake resulted in immediate and massive blood loss, from which Bryan could not recover.
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According to North Okaloosa-based Crestview News Bulletin, William Bryan's wife has sued the hospital for her husband death. The report says citing the woman's attorney that she is pursuing criminal and civil lawsuits against Ascension Sacred Heart Emerald Coast Hospital.
The Bryans claimed that Shaknovsky mistakenly identified the removed liver as the spleen, telling them that it was severely diseased and had enlarged to four times its normal size, even migrating to the other side of the body. It was only after Bryan’s death that the error was discovered. While the liver had been mistakenly removed, the spleen was still in the patient’s body.