NBC News
A Florida surgeon mistakenly removed a man’s liver instead of his spleen, causing him to die on the operating table, a lawyer representing the man’s widow has alleged.
William Bryan, 70, of Muscle Shoals, Alabama, underwent surgery on Aug. 21 at Ascension Sacred Heart Emerald Coast Hospital in Miramar, Florida, for abnormalities in his spleen, according to a statement from the Pensacola, Florida-based personal injury firm Zarzaur Law.
The Walton County Sheriff’s Office, in coordination with other authorities, said in a statement to NBC News on Wednesday that it is investigating Bryan’s death.
William Bryan and his wife, Beverly Bryan, were in the Sunshine State visiting their rental property when he began experiencing “pain on his left side,” Beverly Bryan’s attorneys said.
He was admitted to the hospital for evaluation, and although the Bryans were reluctant to undergo surgery in Florida, Dr. Thomas Shaknovsky, a general surgeon, and Dr. Christopher Bacani, the hospital’s medical director, convinced them that he could suffer serious complications if he left the hospital.
Both Shaknovsky and Bacani appeared to be involved in discussions, according to records, about how to proceed with Bryan’s medical treatment, Beverly Bryan’s attorney, Joe Zarzaur, said in the statement.
Shaknovsky made a hand assisted laparoscopic splenectomy to William Bryan, Zarzaur said, which had fatal consequences.
“Dr. Shaknovsky removed Mr. Bryan’s liver and in doing so severed the major vasculature supplying blood to the liver, resulting in immediate and catastrophic blood loss that resulted in his death,” the statement said. “The surgeon proceeded to label the removed liver sample as a ‘spleen,’ and it was not until after death that it was identified that the removed organ was in fact Mr. Bryan’s liver, and not his spleen.”
Shaknovsky told Beverly Bryan that her husband’s spleen was so diseased that it was four times larger than normal and had moved to the other side of his body, Zarzaur said. But in a typical human body, the liver exists on the opposite side of the abdomen and is much larger than the spleen, she said.
Ascension Sacred Heart Emerald Coast Hospital said in a statement Wednesday that it is “conducting a thorough investigation” into Bryan’s death and takes allegations like those from his family “very seriously.”
“Ascension Sacred Heart Emerald Coast has a long history of providing safe, quality care since the hospital opened its doors in 2003,” the statement said.Patient safety is and remains our number one priority.“Our thoughts and prayers are with the family. We respect the privacy of our patients to the utmost. We do not comment on specific patient cases or active litigation.”
According to the Cleveland Clinic, the typical human spleen is about the size of an avocado, and the typical human liver is about the size of a football.
“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 to have a small cyst on its surface,” the statement said.
Shaknovsky made a similar mistake in 2023, removing portions of a pancreas instead of an adrenal gland, in a case that was settled privately, Zarzaur said.
The employment status of Shaknovsky and Bacani was unclear Wednesday afternoon. They could not be reached for comment.
The Walton County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement that Authorities are investigating the circumstances surrounding Bryan’s death..
“The Walton County Sheriff’s Office in conjunction with the District 1 Medical Examiner’s Office and the State Attorney’s Office is reviewing the facts surrounding the death of William Bryan to determine if foul play took place.”
According to Zarzaur, Beverly Bryan does not want Shaknovsky to perform any more surgeries.
“My husband died helpless on the operating table because of Dr. Shaknovsky. I don’t want anyone else to die because of his incompetence at a hospital that should have known or knew he had previously made drastic, life-changing surgical errors,” his attorney’s statement said.
According to Zarzaur, the widow is promoting criminal and civil actions.
“Our goal at Zarzaur Law is to get justice for the Bryan family and make our community safer one case at a time,” he said. “While most doctors are doing an excellent job of keeping us healthy, there is a small percentage who should not be practicing medicine.”
According to a search conducted Wednesday afternoon at the Florida Board of Medicine, Shaknovsky’s medical license is active. That is also the case for Bacani, according to records.
