The Tragic Case of Dr. Thomas Shaknovsky
A surgeon has been accused of causing the death of a man by mistakenly removing his liver instead of his spleen, an error he attributed to being “so upset.” Dr. Thomas Shaknovsky is now facing a manslaughter charge in connection with the August 2024 death of Bill Bryan, a 70-year-old man from Alabama.
Bryan and his wife Beverly were on vacation along the Emerald Coast in Florida when he experienced abdominal pain that was traced back to his spleen. Beverly later filed a lawsuit, and in a deposition given in November, Shaknovsky provided his account of what occurred during the surgery.
According to a transcript obtained by NBC News, Bryan began to bleed heavily, which caused his heart to stop. As the medical team performed chest compressions, Shaknovsky attempted to locate the source of the bleeding. It was during this time that he removed Bryan’s liver. He reportedly instructed a nurse to label the organ as a spleen.
When asked about the fatal mistake, Shaknovsky stated:
“I can’t explain to you what it’s like for a surgeon to lose a patient on a table and how demoralizing it is and how devastating it is. And I couldn’t tell the difference because I was so upset. It’s a devastating thing, which I will have to live with the rest of my life.”
Bryan had been persuaded to undergo a spleen removal surgery after the doctor allegedly refused to allow him to see his own physician back home. This decision led to the tragic outcome. Following the incident, Shaknovsky’s medical license was suspended on an emergency basis by the Florida Department of Health. A report detailing the incident was submitted to the court.
According to the report, Shaknovsky proceeded with the surgery despite having only a skeletal crew available, as it was late in the day. Operating room staff reportedly expressed concerns that Shaknovsky lacked the necessary skills to perform a spleen removal, which was described as a “complicated” procedure.
During the operation, Shaknovsky discovered a splenic artery aneurysm. He initially told investigators that he managed to control the aneurysm. However, in a later interview, he admitted that he had never been able to control it and instead decided to complete the splenectomy in a last-ditch effort to manage the bleeding after Bryan had already been in cardiac arrest for 15 minutes.
A subsequent autopsy conducted by a medical examiner found no evidence of an aneurysm. Instead, it revealed that Bryan died due to the dissection of his inferior vena cava, the largest vein in the body, during the operation. This error caused massive bleeding that led to his death, not a ruptured aneurysm as Shaknovsky claimed.
The autopsy also showed that Bryan’s spleen and its attachments remained “untouched” and in their normal position. After Bryan’s death, Shaknovsky was barred from practicing medicine in both Alabama and Florida. The case continues to raise serious questions about medical procedures, accountability, and the impact of stress on surgical decision-making.
