Surgeon who ‘removed wrong organ’ from Alabama man learns the fate of his career after 70-year-old patient died on operating table
The surgeon who allegedly removed an Alabama man’s liver instead of his spleen, killing him, has had his license suspended, according to court documents.
William Bryan, 70, was vacationing in Destin, Florida, with his wife Beverly in August when he was rushed to hospital after feeling pain in his abdomen.
His pain was traced to an enlarged spleen, but Dr. Thomas Shaknovsky is said to have accidentally removed his liver.
William’s widow has filed a lawsuit with the help of attorney Joe Zarzaur as she seeks justice for her husband’s death. WAF reported.
Shaknovsky’s license was suspended on an emergency basis by the Florida Department of Health, which prepared a report on the incident that was filed with the court.
William Bryan, 70, (pictured with his wife Beverly) died last month after undergoing emergency surgery with Dr. Thomas Shaknovsky reportedly had the wrong organ removed
After being at Ascension Sacred Heart Emerald Coast Hospital for several days, William agreed to undergo surgery.
Shakovsky continued with the operation despite only skeleton staff being present because it was late in the day, the report said.
Operating room staff were said to be ‘concerned’ that Shaknovsky did not have the skills to perform a spleen removal, which was described as a ‘complicated’ procedure.
While William was on the operating table, Chakovsky discovered a splenic artery aneurysm, according to the report.
According to him, the aneurysm ruptured, resulting in the severe bleeding that would eventually cause his death.
Initially, Shaknovsky told researchers that he could control the aneurysm.
However, in a subsequent interview he admitted that “he was never able to control the aneurysm, but instead decided to complete the splenectomy in a last-ditch effort to control the bleeding.” [William] had been in cardiac arrest for 15 minutes.’
Dr. Thomas Shaknovsky’s license was suspended on September 24, about a month after William’s death
When a medical examiner later performed an autopsy on William, no evidence was found that there had ever been an aneurysm.
Chakovsky said he fired a stapler “blindly into the abdomen” to seal the suspected aneurysm and “removed an organ he believed to be a spleen,” the report said.
The operating room staff later witnessed the liver on the table and were “shocked when Dr. Shaknovsky told them it was a spleen,” the report said.
One employee reported feeling an “upset stomach.”
Shaknovsky claimed the liver was “in an unusual location,” which he said contributed to his mistake.
The medical examiner discovered that William died because Shaknovsky dissected his inferior vena cava, the largest vein in the body, during the operation.
This mistake caused the massive hemorrhage that led to his death, not a ruptured aneurysm that Shaknovsky could not control, the report said.
Furthermore, the autopsy revealed that William’s spleen and its attachments were “untouched” and “in the normal position.”
According to his obituary, William was a Vietnam War veteran in the U.S. Navy and is survived by three children and eight grandchildren
The report also went to great lengths to distinguish between a liver and a spleen, calling the two organs “anatomically different.” Moreover, they have different consistencies and colors.
Shaknovsky removed William’s liver, which weighed 2,106 grams, according to the report.
Even an enlarged spleen would weigh only 400 to 500 grams, about four times smaller than a normal liver, according to the report.
Chakovsky is also accused of accidentally removing part of another patient’s pancreas, but fortunately that person survived.
In the case of William’s botched surgery, the Florida Department of Health alleges that Shaknovsky engaged in deception to cover up his serious mistake, as his description of the surgery did not match what the autopsy revealed.
“This level of dishonesty and fraud is incompatible with the level of integrity required to practice safely as an osteopathic physician,” the report said.
According to his obituary, William was the father of three children, had eight grandchildren and was a U.S. Navy veteran who served in the Vietnam War.
Chakovsky has not been criminally charged, but will no longer be able to practice medicine from September 24.