A Florida law firm says Dr. Thomas Shaknovsky removed William Bryan's liver during surgery in August. He mistook it for his spleen.
OKALOOSA COUNTY, Fla. — A Florida doctor is under fire after a botched surgery led to the death of one of his patients, an Alabama man vacationing in the Sunshine State with his wife, a Florida law firm said in a Facebook post.
Zarzaur Law P.A. says William Bryan, 70, and his wife, Beverly, were visiting their rental property in Okaloosa County before Bryan started experiencing pain on the left side of his body. After arriving at Ascension Sacred Heart Emerald Coast Hospital, Dr. Thomas Shaknovsky and Dr. Christopher Bacani persuaded him to undergo surgery for his spleen.
During the surgery on Aug. 21, Dr. Shaknovsky removed Bryan's liver, mistaking it for his spleen, according to the law firm. The mistake caused "immediate and catastrophic blood loss," leading to Bryan's death.
Now, Beverly Bryan is pushing for both criminal and civil charges against the doctor to get justice for her husband, the law firm said.
"My husband died while helpless on the operating room table by Dr. Shaknovsky," Beverly stated in the post. "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.”
Zarzaur Law P.A. says this isn't Dr. Shaknovsky's first "wrong-site surgery." In 2023, he allegedly removed a portion of a patient's pancreas by mistake while performing surgery on their adrenal gland.
After Bryan's death, the medical examiner found a small cyst on his spleen, which is believed to be the original cause of his pain, according to the law firm.
In another Facebook post, personal injury attorney Joe Zarzaur announced that another hospital, North Walton Doctor's Hospital "officially disassociated" with Dr. Shaknovsky.
Mr. William Bryan and his wife Beverly, of Muscle Shoals, Alabama, were visiting their rental property in Okaloosa County when Mr. Bryan (70 years of age) suddenly began experiencing left-sided flank pain. They went to Ascension Sacred Heart Emerald Coast Hospital, and he was admitted for further studies pursuant to concern for an abnormality of the spleen. The family was reluctant to proceed with surgery in Florida but were persuaded by Dr. Thomas Shaknovsky, General Surgeon, and Dr. Christopher Bacani, Chief Medical Officer of Ascension Sacred Heart Emerald Coast Hospital, that Mr. Bryan could experience serious complications if he left the hospital. From the records it appears, both physicians were involved in the discussion as to the appropriateness of the planned procedure and the capabilities of the facility to accommodate such.
On August 21, 2024, Dr. Shaknovsky proceeded with a hand-assisted laparoscopic splenectomy procedure. During this operation, Dr. Shaknovsky removed Mr. Bryan’s liver and, in so doing, transected the major vasculature supplying the liver, causing immediate and catastrophic blood loss resulting in death. The surgeon proceeded with labeling the removed liver specimen as a “spleen,” and it wasn’t until following the death that it was identified that the organ removed was actually Mr. Bryan’s liver, as opposed to the spleen. The surgeon told Mrs. Bryan after the procedure that the “spleen” was so diseased that it was four times bigger than usual and had migrated to the other side of Mr. Bryan’s body. Typical human anatomy dictates that the liver naturally exists on the opposite side of the abdominal cavity, and it is several times larger than the spleen. The family was informed that Mr. Bryan’s spleen, the root of his original symptom profile upon presentation to the hospital, was still in his body and appeared with a small cyst on its surface.
Perhaps most concerning is that Dr. Shaknovsky had a previous wrong-site surgery in 2023 where he mistakenly removed a portion of a patient’s pancreas instead of performing the intended adrenal gland resection. That case was settled in confidence, and Dr. Shaknovsky remained a surgeon at Ascension Sacred Heart Emerald Coast Hospital as recently as August 2024. It is uncertain whether he continues to have privileges at Ascension Sacred Heart Emerald Coast Hospital or other area facilities.
Mrs. Bryan hired Zarzaur Law to get justice for her husband. She doesn’t want this doctor to continue treating patients. Mrs. Bryan is pushing both criminal and civil proceedings as she feels that “My husband died while helpless on the operating room table by Dr. Shaknovsky. 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.”
Joe Zarzaur noted, “Our goal at Zarzaur Law is to get justice for the Bryan family and make our community safer one case at a time.” He also states “That while most doctors are doing excellent work to keep us healthy, there is a small percentage that should not be practicing medicine.”
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Posted by Zarzaur Law P.A. on Friday, August 30, 2024
"They have removed him from their webpage as a provider," Zarzaur said in the post. "And there was a Facebook post that they have now taken down that had him listed as a director of surgery. That's also been removed."
In a statement obtained by AL.com, Ascension Sacred Heart Emerald Coast Hospital said it's investigating Bryan's death.
“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,” the statement read. “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.”
