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 ...
Per one story, the spleen was found intact, in its proper location upon autopsy.
Re: situs inversus, nah. Any patient having a splenectomy would have had some kind of enhanced imaging or ultrasound first. Where that would have been revealed.
Doctor, “oops” is not the proper response.
Absolutely they were scared. In the other article linked in one of the comments, the doctor ordered the technician to send the liver for an autopsy listed as a spleen, even tho the tech new it was a liver. The technician complied.
The medical examiner of course corrected that in his examination to rule it as a healthy liver.
This whole thread will make me very nervous if I ever require any serious surgery.
This Dr and his operating room team had to be on drugs. Nobody is that stupid.
“I could have sworn we were doing a brainectomy!”
That’s why I wonder about the anesthesiologist. The one person in the room that could challenge the doctor.
DOs can actually be surgeons. And I assume most of them do just fine.
Here is the dr’s record
You can click on his two incidents. It makes for a interesting read.
The crazy thing is every once in a while you will hear about a doctor, even a surgeon, who never actually went to medical school. But they actually weren't bad in their practice. There are people who never went to medical school who are better surgeons than this guy.
...but let’s support medical Marijuana anyway...
https://www.medpagetoday.com/surgery/generalsurgery/120792
Since when are DOs allowed to perform surgery?!
You're right!
Have you ever heard of the 4711 Rule? (Named after "4711," a brand of Cologne.)
The spleen's dimensions are 4 X 7 x 11 cm.
The liver, in contrast, is the LARGEST gland in the body.
Regards,
Oh come on people!
They kinda look alike except for tremendous suze difference. I’m sure just as I have not seen a human one up close, this poor doc probably never did either.
cut him slack....but don’t let him cut ANYTHING
OMG! 😧
This is what happens when you graduate from the Walmart School of Medicine.
What’s the Doc gonna do with all that Chianti and fava beans he stocked up on?
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