US Doctor Indicted For Fatal Surgery Where He Removed Patient's Liver Instead Of Spleen

A US doctor has been indicted on a second-degree manslaughter charge for removing a patient's liver instead of his spleen during a 2024 surgery. The grave error by Dr Thomas Shaknovsky, 44, resulted in "catastrophic blood loss' as the patient, identified as Bill Bryan, died on the operating table. Shaknovsky was arrested on Monday (Apr 13) morning and has since been released on bond, as per the Walton County Sheriff's Office. He is scheduled to be arraigned in Walton County Circuit Court on May 19.

Prosecutors allege that Bryan underwent diagnostic imaging at the hospital on August 18, 2024. There was blood in the membrane lining, but no signs of haemorrhaging. Shaknovsky told Bryan that he needed to have his spleen removed, a minimally invasive procedure that is still considered major surgery.

For three days, Bryan declined to have the surgery and said he wished to return to Alabama for further medical care. However, Shaknovsky pushed for the procedure by pressuring Bryan, who eventually agreed. The operation was scheduled for the afternoon of Aug. 21, 2024, a Saturday, when staffing was not sufficient, the Health Department said.

According to a report in The New York Times, Shaknovsky began the procedure as a laparoscopy but switched to open surgery as he could not clearly see the organs. Even when Bryan was bleeding, Shaknovsky did not ask his colleagues for a clamp or cauteriser and instead continued to dissect Bryan's organ.

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After the procedure, Shaknovsky attempted to persuade his colleagues in the operating room that the liver he removed from the patient was a spleen.

"The staff looked at the readily identifiable liver on the table and were shocked when Dr Shaknovsky told them that it was a spleen. One staff member felt sick to their stomach," the state documents said.

The Health Department in its report stated that in addition to being on different sides of the abdomen, "spleens and livers are anatomically distinct and have different consistencies and are different in colour.

The state of Florida suspended Shaknovsky's medical license after the surgery. Records show he voluntarily surrendered his medical license in Alabama after regulators sought to revoke it. He faces up to 15 years in prison if convicted.