Dr. Thomas J. Shaknovsky, a Florida physician, had his medical license suspended after he allegedly removed a patient’s liver instead of the spleen, causing immediate and catastrophic death. The patient, 70-year-old William Bryan, was visiting Florida from Alabama when he began experiencing abdominal pain. Despite Bryan declining surgical intervention, Shaknovsky recommended a laparoscopic splenectomy which Bryan eventually agreed to. However, during the surgery, Shaknovsky mistakenly removed Bryan’s liver instead of his spleen, resulting in severe hemorrhaging and death. The doctor then attempted to cover up his mistake by asking staff to label the liver as a spleen.
The emergency order filed by Florida Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo accused Shaknovsky of repeated egregious surgical errors and fabricating medical records in Bryan’s case. The surgery took place on August 21, with staff noting that the operating room was understaffed and expressing concerns about Shaknovsky’s skill level. During the surgery, the physician failed to recognize that he was dissecting the wrong organ, despite the clear differences between a liver and spleen. Staff in the operating room were shocked when they realized the mistake, with one individual feeling sick upon seeing the liver being labeled as a spleen by Shaknovsky.
Shaknovsky’s actions were further called into question by Ladapo, who argued that the misidentification of the liver was not a momentary mistake, but a series of errors that were willfully ignored by the physician. The surgeon general found that Shaknovsky’s dishonesty and negligence in Bryan’s case, as well as a previous surgery in 2023 where he removed part of a patient’s pancreas instead of the left adrenal gland, demonstrated a pattern of behavior that put the public at risk. As a result, Ladapo recommended a complete restriction on Shaknovsky’s ability to perform general surgery to protect the public.
Bryan’s death was ruled a homicide due to the removal of his liver during what was meant to be a splenectomy. The family’s lawyers announced plans to file a malpractice lawsuit in response to the tragic incident. The news of Bryan’s death and the circumstances surrounding it have been devastating to the healthcare industry, as operating rooms are meant to be places of the highest level of patient care. The case serves as a stark reminder of the importance of trust and integrity in medical practice, and the need for strict regulations to hold medical professionals accountable for their actions.
The case of Thomas J. Shaknovsky highlights the serious consequences of medical malpractice and the devastating impact it can have on patients and their families. The mishandling of Bryan’s surgery, resulting in his death, has raised concerns about the practices and ethics of healthcare providers. The medical community must work to ensure that incidents like these are thoroughly investigated, and steps are taken to prevent similar tragedies from occurring in the future. While the legal process plays out in response to this case, it is essential that the public’s trust in the healthcare system is restored, and that patients can have confidence in the care they receive from medical professionals.
