The surgeon who 'removed the wrong organ' from a patient during an operation has been accused of another similar incident.
William Bryan, from Alabama, US, tragically passed away after becoming victim to a 'life-altering surgical mistake', which led to his death.
The 70-year-old was rushed to the nearest hospital, Ascension Sacred Heart Emerald Coast Hospital in Walton County, after feeling a sharp pain on the left side of his body.
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However, instead of being treated for the pain, he devastatingly died following an alleged 'drastic' mistake by a surgeon, Dr Thomas Shaknovsky.
Shaknovsky was supposed to be removing his spleen, but made the grave mistake of taking out his liver instead.
Dr. Robert Blanchard, the pathologist, noted the organ removed from Bryan’s body, which was 'designated' as a spleen, was a 'grossly identifiable' liver, leading to the life-threatening mistake.
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In the process of removing the wrong organ, Dr. Shaknovsky allegedly tore many blood vessels that were connected, and it was this disastrous loss of blood that led to William's death.
William's heartbroken wife, Beverly, is now seeking legal justice for the life of her husband, of whom she was married to for 33 years.
In a statement, she said: "My husband died while helpless on the operating room table by Dr. Shaknovsky."
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She said she doesn't 'want anyone else to die due to his incompetence', before claiming that the hospital 'should have known or knew he had previously made drastic, life-altering surgical mistakes'.
A spokesperson for Ascension said in a statement to USA TODAY: "We take allegations like this very seriously, and our leadership team is performing a thorough investigation into this event.
"Ascension Sacred Heart Emerald Coast has a longstanding history of providing safe, quality care since the hospital opened its doors in 2001," the statement continued.
"Patient safety is and remains our number one priority. Our thoughts and prayers remain 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."
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Shaknovsky had his medical license suspended in Florida last month (24 September) following William's death, but has now also reportedly had his license suspended in Alabama too, following a new complaint filed by the state’s Board of Medical Examiners last week (22 October), per McClatchy News.
Beverly's legal team have accused Shaknovsky of mistakenly removing part of a patient’s pancreas instead of his adrenal gland during a different procedure in May 2023, as well as the death of a female patient who faced major complications following surgery a few months later in July of that same year.
The latter patient was scheduled to undergo an ileostomy, an operation to bring the end of your small bowel to the outside of your tummy to form a stomach, according to the NHS.
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But, instead, Shaknovsky 'opted to perform a bowel resection on (her) which resulted in perforation', the complaint reportedly states.
Her 'health deteriorated post-operatively and she was moved to the ICU where she later died', according to the complaint, which also says the Florida Agency for Health Care Administration launched an investigation.
It was not reportedly specified when the patient died following the procedure.
According the complaint, which also accuses the surgeon of committing gross negligence when caring for the patient, the investigation reportedly found that Shaknovsky and other doctors 'failed to appropriately use diagnostic testing and delayed in ordering imaging to timely treat sepsis'.
Tyla has reached out to both the Ascension Sacred Heart Emerald Coast and Dr Thomas Shaknovsky for further comment.
Rhiannon Ingle