Alabama husband William Bryan dies on operating table at Florida hospital after Dr. Thomas Shaknovsky removed his liver

An Alabama husband died on a Florida operating table when the doctor mistakenly removed the man’s liver during surgery before the surgeon attempted to pass off the organ as an “enlarged spleen,” according to an attorney representing the man’s widow.

William Bryan and his wife Beverly were visiting their rented property in Okaloosa County, Florida, last month when he suddenly began experiencing lower left abdominal pain.

The 70-year-old Muscle Shores, AL, resident went to Ascension Sacred Heart Emerald Coast Hospital in Walton County, where he was admitted for further testing over concerns about an abnormality in his spleen, Zarzaur Law PA said Friday on Facebook.

General surgeon Dr. Thomas Shaknovsky and Dr. Christopher Bacani, the hospital’s medical director, persuaded the reluctant family to allow Bryan to undergo surgery at the hospital or “he could experience serious complications if he left the hospital,” the law firm claims.

Bryan agreed with the doctors and underwent a hand-assisted laparoscopic splenectomy procedure on August 21.

During surgery, Shaknovsky removed Bryan’s liver by severing the main vasculature supplying blood to the liver.

The surgical cut caused “immediate and catastrophic blood loss resulting in death,” the post said.

After mistakenly removing Bryan’s liver, the surgeon general labeled the organ “spleen,” which was only identified as a liver after the man’s death.

Shaknovsky went on to explain to Beverly Bryan that her husband’s “spleen” “was so diseased that it was four times its normal size and had migrated to the other side of his body.”

Within the human body, the liver is located in the upper right part of the abdominal cavity, just below the diaphragm and above the stomach, right kidney, and intestines.

The spleen, located in the upper left part of the abdomen, next to the stomach, is significantly smaller than the liver, between 1,100 and 1,400 grams lighter, and is approximately the size of a fist.

Zarzaur Law claims that Dr. Shaknovsky had a “wrong-site surgery” previously in 2023, where he allegedly removed a portion of a patient’s pancreas instead of performing the intended adrenal gland resection.

That case was resolved confidentially.

Beverly Bryan hired the law firm to get “justice” for her husband and hopes the surgeon general will no longer treat other patients.

“My husband died helpless on Dr. Shaknovsky’s operating table. I don’t want anyone else to die because of his incompetence at a hospital that should have known or knew that he had made drastic surgical errors that changed his life,” the widow said in a statement through the law firm.

Beverly Bryan says she is pushing for civil and criminal proceedings to be initiated in connection with her husband’s death.

North Walton Medical Hospital has “disassociated itself” from Shaknovsky and removed all photos and references to the doctor from its website, according to Zarzaur.

Ascension Sacred Heart Emerald Coast Hospital said it was investigating Bryan’s death but would not share any further information.

“We take allegations like this very seriously and our leadership team is conducting a thorough investigation into this incident. Ascension Sacred Heart Emerald Coast has a long history of providing safe, quality care since the hospital opened its doors in 2003,” the hospital said in a statement obtained by AL.com. “Patient safety is and remains our number one priority. Our thoughts and prayers are with the family. We hold the privacy of our patients in the highest regard. We do not comment on specific patient cases or active litigation.”

Following William Bryan’s death, a small apparent cyst was discovered on his spleen which is believed to be the cause of the pain for which he was hospitalized.