Florida surgeon mistakenly removes patient's liver instead of spleen during operation, admits error in deposition

A Florida surgeon who removed a man's liver instead of his spleen during an operation last August, leading to the patient's death, has given his first detailed account of the surgical error in a deposition, saying he was "forever traumatized" by the incident.

Dr Thomas Shaknovsky, 70, faces a manslaughter charge after patient William Bryan died on the operating table during a planned splenectomy. Shaknovsky has pleaded not guilty.

In the November deposition, part of a lawsuit filed by Bryan's widow, Shaknovsky said unusual factors made the procedure difficult, including blood in Bryan's abdomen and an enlarged colon blocking his view. During the operation, Bryan began bleeding profusely and his heart stopped. As the team performed chest compressions, Shaknovsky said he desperately tried to find the bleeding source and accidentally removed the liver instead of the spleen.

Shaknovsky then instructed a nurse to label the removed organ as a spleen, which typically weighs less than 15 percent of a liver. "I couldn't tell the difference because I was so upset," he said. "I can't explain to you what it's like for a surgeon to lose a patient on a table ... I think about it every single day."

Bryan's death certificate lists the cause as "exsanguination" (bleeding to death) and "surgical removal of the liver."

Shaknovsky, who had been licensed in multiple states, lost his licenses in Florida, Alabama and New York after Bryan's death. He was arrested last month in Miramar Beach while working as a Lyft driver.

This is not the first malpractice allegation against Shaknovsky. In May 2023, he was alleged to have removed part of a patient's pancreas instead of his adrenal gland. In August 2023, he allegedly failed to recognise signs of sepsis after abdominal surgery, leading to another patient's death, according to an ongoing lawsuit.

 

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