Posted on 04/14/2026 3:16:47 PM PDT by nickcarraway
Dr Thomas Shaknovsky indicted for second-degree manslaughter after prosecutors allege he removed a patient's liver instead of his spleen SNIP
The Office of the State Attorney for the First Judicial Circuit in Florida announced in a release Monday that Dr. Thomas Shaknovsky was charged with second-degree manslaughter after he allegedly removed the liver from 70-year-old Bill Bryan of Muscle Shoals, Alabama, in 2024 during a procedure at Ascension Sacred Heart Emerald Coast Hospital in Miramar Beach, Florida. Prosecutors allege the surgery was scheduled to be a laparoscopic splenectomy, a minimally invasive procedure used to remove the spleen, but the removal of Bryan's liver resulted in "catastrophic blood loss and the patient’s death on the operating table."
A Walton County grand jury said the surgeon's actions in the operating room "constituted criminal conduct under Florida law."
"Our duty is to follow the facts wherever they lead, without fear or favor," Walton County Sheriff Michael Adkinson said in a news release. "The Grand Jury has spoken, and our responsibility is to ensure the charges are carried out through the proper legal process. Our thoughts remain with the victim’s family and their unspeakable loss." Available court records did not list an attorney for Shaknovsky. It is unclear whether he has retained legal representation.
(Excerpt) Read more at foxnews.com ...
Yikes. That’s a scary feeling.
The surgical report is linked above. The article is written negligently not just poorly.
The surgeon did not just remove the wrong organ.
There was a cascade of complications that were not handled properly and things went from bad to worse. A medical disaster by someone who should not have been practicing surgery.
My gallbladder was removed via laparoscopic procedure. The incision where the gallbladder was pulled out still remains a deep scar. 3 months later, I had a Whipple procedure. A nice, clean incision from just below my xyphoid process to just above my belly button. It was glued back together and left a clean line. The surgeon did the entire procedure in 4 hours start to finish. More difficult cases run up to 12 hours. I'm thankful that they didn't chose a robotic laparoscopic approach in my case.
A doctor would never be removing an entire liver in any case, right?
Considering the history of this doctors they should have feared for the life of the patient.
If they knew about it
But they had to know that the operation was not proceeding as planned.
They should have questioned him. They should have saved him from a mistake and saved the patient
If I was the anesthesiologist, I’d be pretty angry if I wasn’t told of his history. Is there any way that doctor didn’t know?
A lot of large arteries in the liver
If he started cutting on it without a plan it would go south very fast.
I would be interested to know how many successful laproscopic surgeries he had under his belt prior to this one.
Can someone explain to me how a DO is qualified to do surgery? I thought their DO practice was suited to Family practice or even as a Primary doc which is largely diagnostic and referral. There’s absolutely no way I would consent to a DO doing surgery on me or mine.
I remember another story
Man had testicular tumor on one testicle. He had signed consent for diagnostic procedure for that particular testicle. When it came time for the surgery to remove the cancerous testicle, the surgical fellow came in to the patients room to have the patient sign the consent. The patient wanted to read the form, the fellow told the patient that “nothing was changed” on the form. The patient signed the form. Only it was found that the wrong(healthy) testicle was listed on the consent. The healthy one was removed, and then the cancerous one had to be removed later.
Never let the hospital staff, or doctors, or anyone hurry you into making a decision until you are sure of what you are agreeing to. In cases of emergency that may be hard to do, but if you have a choice, verify everything possible. Don’t let them roll their eyes, or sigh, as if you are some dummy.
I don’t think so.
Everyone on the team has to know what to expect.
Everyone has to know what is expected of them.
If the surgeon is smart he makes sure the team is prepared for any thing that might happen
If he didnn’t know the difference between a pancreases and a liver he shouldn’t be practicing medicine
“ Do you think some of them were scared to contradict a doctor?”
Remember when a Korean airline plane flew into a mountain in Guam. It killed everyone on board. The copilot did not want to contradict the pilot
DO were originally in that type of practice but now they are treated like MD and can apply for residency in any specialty and take board certification tests. He was licensed in Florida, Alabama, Illinois, New Jersey, and New York. His internship & residency were at an institution that was not accredited until 9 years after he graduated,
“The General Surgery Residency Program at Hackensack University Medical Center (HUMC), accredited in 2018, is designed to ensure all residents have the necessary resources and tools to become certified by the American Board of Surgery.” Why would someone take a residency in an unacredited prohram? Because no one else would accept them.
https://connect.medicalnewstoday.com/provider/dr-thomas-shaknovsky-1568690014
I think the patient died. Which would happen if the liver was removed.
Sad.
How can a white doctor be this bad? Really surprised.
“I have heard of a doctor removing the wrong side,”
That’s exactly why, before hip surgeries, I’ve written “other side” in marker on the good side.
Did he sleep at a Holiday Inn Express?
I found a Thomas Shaknovsky in Florida that is a Colon/Rectal surgeon in Florida, but it says he has been in practice more than 20 years, which doesn’t work for someone that is 44. The Osteopathic degree from Chicago matches.
General rule of thumb - don’t let your proctologist work on your spleen OR liver.
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