Surgeon Who Killed Patient After Removing Wrong Organ Offers Excuse

A Florida surgeon accused of making a horrifying mistake during surgery that allegedly killed a patient reportedly admitted he removed the man’s liver instead of his spleen — and later claimed he “couldn’t tell the difference” because he was so emotionally overwhelmed.

Thomas Shaknovsky is now facing a manslaughter charge tied to the 2024 death of 70-year-old Bill Bryan, whose family says what should have been a routine procedure turned into a nightmare.

Bryan and his wife, Beverly, had been vacationing along Florida’s Emerald Coast when he suddenly developed abdominal pain. Doctors later determined there was an issue involving his spleen.

According to reports, Bryan wanted to return home to Alabama to seek treatment from his own doctor, but his wife later alleged Shaknovsky pressured him into having surgery in Florida instead.

What happened next stunned investigators.

During a deposition connected to a lawsuit filed by Beverly Bryan, Shaknovsky reportedly described a chaotic scene inside the operating room after Bryan began bleeding heavily and went into cardiac arrest.

The surgeon claimed he desperately searched for the source of the bleeding while medical staff performed chest compressions.

It was during that frantic effort, according to investigators, that he mistakenly removed Bryan’s liver instead of his spleen.

Even more shocking, court records reportedly state that Shaknovsky instructed a nurse to label the organ as a spleen.

“I can’t explain to you what it’s like for a surgeon to lose a patient on a table and how demoralizing it is,” Shaknovsky reportedly said during the deposition.

“And I couldn’t tell the difference because I was so upset.”

The case became even more disturbing after details from a Florida Department of Health investigation surfaced.

According to the state report, Shaknovsky allegedly performed the surgery late in the day with only a skeletal crew still working at the hospital. Some operating room staff reportedly raised concerns beforehand about whether the surgeon had the experience needed for such a complicated spleen procedure.

During the operation, Shaknovsky claimed he discovered a splenic artery aneurysm that suddenly ruptured, causing catastrophic bleeding.

At first, he reportedly told investigators he had controlled the aneurysm. But in a later interview, authorities say he admitted he never actually controlled the bleeding and instead continued the surgery as a “last-ditch effort” after Bryan had already been in cardiac arrest for about 15 minutes.

But investigators later uncovered a massive contradiction.

When a medical examiner performed Bryan’s autopsy, there was reportedly no evidence that a ruptured aneurysm had ever existed.

Instead, the autopsy found Bryan’s spleen had been left completely untouched and remained in its normal position inside his body.

The medical examiner concluded Bryan died after Shaknovsky allegedly severed the inferior vena cava — the body’s largest vein — causing the catastrophic blood loss that killed him.

Following Bryan’s death, Shaknovsky was barred from practicing medicine in both Florida and Alabama.