Grand jury brings manslaughter charge over fatal 2024 operation where patient died on table
A surgeon in Florida has been indicted for manslaughter after he wrongly removed a patient’s liver instead of his spleen during an August 2024 procedure.
Thomas Shaknovsky, 44, was indicted by a grand jury in Tallahassee on Monday after prosecutors said he botched the surgery of 70-year-old William Bryan, of Muscle Shoals, Alabama.
The jury of the first judicial circuit heard that Shaknovsky, of DeFuniak Springs, 120 miles (193km) west of Tallahassee, had been scheduled to perform an operation called a laparoscopic splenectomy on the patient, but instead cut out the man’s liver.
I read the report the level of incompetence is insane. There were multiple medical staff who were concerned about the surgeon and facility’s capabilities to handle such a non-routine procedure. Multiple people noticed that there was a high chance of complications and NONE of them stepped up to argue against the surgeon. The CMO was only called after the surgeon slapped the excised liver on the table… Multiple points of failure, and nobody did anything. Of course the surgeon is at fault. But, I can’t believe nobody tried to stop it.
But, I can’t believe nobody tried to stop it.
Welcome to medical culture. Some of these surgeons are highly trained, vindictive assholes who expect medical errors to be covered up.
That’s…not a simple mistake. Like…what was the plan after the liver came out? It sounds like the guy legitimately believed it was a spleen…
I’m guessing there were some red flags ignored by the hospital prior to this
I don’t think there really was a plan. Kind of a “today I’m going to do a surgery, no matter what” type of thing.
Image of accused.“If you die…you don’t pay!”
the red thing’s connected to my wristwatch!
There’s some reddit analysis of the report: https://www.reddit.com/r/medicine/comments/1g6v1jg/florida_ahca_report_on_dr_thomas_shaknovsky/
Yeah this guy should have been removed from surgery a long time before this happened. Whoever kept him on should be in prison.
Reading that is just insane. The surgeon wrote a fictional surgery report where he stated that he converted the laparoscopy into a normal surgery because the spleen was enlarged and then during the removal of the spleen there was an aneurysm that burst and the patient bled to death because of that. A pathologist was sent the liver in a box labeled “spleen” which he noticed instantly that it wasn’t a spleen.
When they autopsied the patient the Medical Examiner found that the spleen was still inside the patient, basically untouched and there was no sign of the aforementioned aneurysm. The Medical Examiner also found that the liver was missing and that it has been cleanly dissected off the diaphragm which they stated that it was quite hard to learn how to do. They stated “Essentially the liver was autopsied out of that man”. They noticed that there was no evidence of suturing or clamping and the surgeon just dissected the Inferior Vena Cava. The medical examiner also found that the spleen of the patient weighed 420 grams while a typical liver is between 1800 and 2800 grams, they also said that the largest spleen they have seen weighed 800 grams, still nowhere close to the weight of a liver.
They interviewed the nurses and other OR staff and one of them states that at one point a different surgeon walked in and stated: “that looks like the liver to me” and the operating surgeon just said “no, that’s the spleen”.
I appreciate you calling out the system even more than the individual. This is certainly a sentinel event.
A real Dr Death situation
Thanks for sharing that was an engrossing read. Like most of these situations it looks like there was significant system failure leading up to the event. You’re absolutely right he should have been removed long before this.
I know muktiple children who wouldn’t even make that mistake 😅 wtf
Guys come on this is a simple mistake! It is a Ron Burgundy type situation. He just removes whatever is in front of him… This time it was a liver. Could have been worse I guess
“You’re going to laugh about all of this when I explain it…” runs out of room
Holy fuck…
Did they find any Chianti at his home?
Sounds like Doctor Death has a subject for another season.
Edit: I think I know who’s downvoting me.
he probably got confused when he saw hepatosplengamaly.
