Florida Surgeon Accused of Removing Man's Liver Instead of His Spleen — and Causing His Death

• Woman claims Florida surgeon removed her late husband’s liver, not spleen, causing his death
• “We take allegations like this very seriously,” Ascension Sacred Heart Emerald Coast Hospital told PEOPLE in a statement.
• PEOPLE has reached out to surgeon Dr. Thomas Shaknovski for comment

A woman claims that the Florida surgeon who operated on her husband caused his death when the doctor removed his liver instead of his spleen.

Under Florida law, a pre-suit proceeding — which may involve convening a panel that includes an attorney, health care provider and claims adjuster — must take place before a lawsuit is filed. However, the Law of Zarzaur. who represents Beverly Bryan in the case, shared the operative documentation and surgical pathology report with PEOPLE, the latter of which confirms that the liver was indeed removed, but does not confirm that it was done in error.

Ascension Sacred Heart Emerald Coast Hospital told PEOPLE they are taking the allegations “very seriously.”

Muscle Shoals, Ala., residents William Bryan and his wife, Beverly, were visiting in Okaloosa County, Fla., when he sought medical attention on Aug. 18 for “severe abdominal pains,” according to an operative file Zarzaur Law shared with PEOPLE.

According to the report, while at Ascension Sacred Heart Emerald Coast Hospital, Bryan, 70, was told he needed surgery; he then “declined surgical intervention and stated that he wished to be discharged home to travel back to Alabama.”

William and Beverly Bryan.

Courtesy of Zarzaur Law

According to Ops documents shared with PEOPLE, the hospital “discussed his case at length and explained to the patient that he did not have permission to be discharged… She discussed the fact that if he wanted to leave the hospital it would be against medical advice at this time. The patient elected to stay in the hospital. On the second day of the hospital, surgical intervention was recommended.”

Bryan was admitted for “intra-abdominal bleeding associated with a ruptured splenic artery aneurysm” and “cardiac arrest,” according to the Operating Documentation — which is a detailed account of the patient’s treatment — Zarzaur Law shared with PEOPLE.

However, “the patient verbalized understanding and continued to refuse surgical intervention,” the documents state. “The patient wanted to be discharged home and monitored by his regular physician in Alabama.”

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The report goes on to say that “the case was discussed at length with the patient and his wife before the operation” until they agreed to proceed with the operation.

According to the documents, Dr. Thomas Shaknovsky was expected to perform a “laparoscopic hand-assisted splenectomy,” and that during the operation, “the entire spleen was exposed and severely deformed.”

It was at that point, due to “the large size of the spleen that we chose to convert to an open procedure,” the documents state.

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The Cleveland Clinic defines the spleen as “a small organ inside your left rib cage, just above your stomach. It’s part of the lymphatic system.”

The liver is “a large organ in the abdomen,” according to the Cleveland Clinic, which adds, “Under normal conditions, the liver is located on the right side of the body.”

Stock image of the operating room.

Getty

During the procedure, “due to the extensive blood loss at the time of the aneurysm rupture, the patient’s blood pressure dropped rapidly and the patient decompensated into cardiac arrest.”

But according to a surgical pathology report that Zarzaur Law shared with PEOPLE, Bryan’s liver had not had his deformed spleen removed.

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“Received [the preservative solution] formalin labeled with the patient’s name and ‘spleen’, is a crudely identifiable 2.106g liver,” the surgical pathology report said.

Ascension Sacred Heart Emerald Coast Hospital told PEOPLE in a statement, “We take allegations like this very seriously and our leadership team is conducting a thorough investigation into this incident.” “Ascension Sacred Heart Emerald Coast has a long history of providing safe, quality care since the hospital opened in 2003. Patient safety is and remains our number one priority. We keep our patients’ privacy at the forefront of active litigation.”

As Beverly Bryan said through her attorney, “my husband died while he was helpless on the operating room table at the hands of Dr. Shaknovsky.”

PEOPLE has reached out to Dr. Shaknovsky for comment.

Categories: Trends
Source: HIS Education