Florida surgeon accused of removing wrong organ also had 2nd patient die, records show
.jpg "A surgeon’s medical license has been suspended in Alabama after it was suspended in Florida, records show.")
The Florida surgeon accused of removing a man’s liver instead of his spleen — resulting in his death — had another patient die after a surgical procedure that was performed a year earlier, a complaint shows.
Dr. Thomas Shaknovsky’s medical license was suspended in Florida on Sept. 24, after his patient, William Bryan, died during what was supposed to be a splenectomy at Ascension Sacred Heart Emerald Coast Hospital in Walton County on Aug. 21, McClatchy News previously reported.
Florida Surgeon General Joseph A. Ladapo issued the emergency suspension order that detailed “repeated egregious surgical errors” made by Shaknovsky, including how he wrongly removed Bryan’s liver — causing him to bleed out — and, in a separate procedure, wrongly removed part of another patient’s pancreas.
Shaknovsky also held a license to practice medicine in Alabama, where Bryan was from. It was issued in July 2016, records show.
Now, Alabama has temporarily suspended Shaknovsky’s license to practice in the state after the state Board of Medical Examiners filed a complaint on Oct. 22. The suspension order is dated Oct. 23.
The complaint accuses him of negligence in Bryan’s death, in his treatment of the patient who had part of their pancreas removed, and in the treatment of a third patient who later died after surgery in July 2023.
Shaknovsky didn’t immediately respond to McClatchy News’ request for comment Oct. 28.
A different surgical procedure than what was scheduled
About two months after Shaknovsky removed part of a man’s pancreas instead of his adrenal gland in May 2023, according to the complaint, he’s accused of a second “adverse event” involving a female patient.
On July 23, 2023, the complaint says a woman was scheduled to undergo an ileostomy, a procedure in which a surgeon creates a hole in a person’s stomach to change the way waste exits a patient’s body, according to the Cleveland Clinic.
Instead of an ileostomy, (Shaknovsky) “opted to perform a bowel resection on (her) which resulted in perforation,” the complaint says.
A bowel resection involves removing “any part of the bowel,” including the small intestine or large intestine., according to WebMD.
The woman’s “health deteriorated post-operatively and she was moved to the ICU where she later died,” according to the complaint, which says the Florida Agency for Health Care Administration launched an investigation. It wasn’t specified when the patient died.
The investigation found that Shaknovsky and other doctors “failed to appropriately use diagnostic testing and delayed in ordering imaging to timely treat sepsis,” the complaint says.
The complaint accuses him of committing gross negligence when caring for her.
Since May 2023, the complaint says Shaknovsky “exhibited an inability to practice medicine with reasonable skill and safety due to a lack of basic medical knowledge in his treatment of” the man who had part of his pancreas removed, the woman and Bryan.
Law enforcement is investigating Bryan’s death
Bryan’s wife, Beverly Bryan, told McClatchy News on Sept. 26 that her husband “became a homicide victim in the operating room” on Aug. 21.
The emergency order issued by Florida’s surgeon general detailed how Shaknovsky continued dissecting Bryan’s wrong organ, his spleen, as he was bleeding out on an operating room table and then removed it, killing him.
Dr. Thomas Shaknovsky placed a “readily-identifiable liver” on the table and shocked the OR staff when he said it was his spleen, the order says.
The Walton County Sheriff’s Office is investigating Bryan’s death, public information officer Corey Dobridnia confirmed to McClatchy News on Oct. 28.
“Our agency continues to work closely with the Office of State Attorney First Judicial Circuit, the District One Medical Examiner’s Office, and the Florida Department of Health to ensure we have all the information relevant to this case,” a statement provided by Dobridnia said.
“Once the investigation is complete the facts will be reviewed and discussed with the State Attorney’s Office to determine if/what the appropriate charges may be,” the statement added.
The sheriff’s office has been conducting interviews with the parties involved, including Beverly Bryan and her legal counsel, and is reviewing medical records.
“Medical staff and hospital staff are cooperating with the investigation,” the statement provided by Dobridnia said.
With Shaknovsky’s licenses suspended in Alabama and Florida, attorney Joe Zarzaur, who represents Beverly Bryan, said in a video shared to Instagram on Oct. 25 that Shaknovsky currently cannot legally practice medicine in the U.S.
He said Alabama took action “because of the danger to public safety in Alabama, just like in Florida” and commended the state’s decision.
Zarzaur said he’s been hired by representing another patient of Shaknovsky who had a “massive complication” regarding his colon in July 2024.
This patient told Zarzaur that Shaknovsky had threatened him against moving forward with a lawyer.
In regards to the woman who died, Zarzaur told McClatchy News on Oct. 28 that his law firm has “not explored the details of that case.”
A hearing on Shaknovsky’s license suspension will be held Dec. 18, the Alabama suspension order shows.
This story was originally published October 28, 2024 at 4:01 PM with the headline "Florida surgeon accused of removing wrong organ also had 2nd patient die, records show."
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