A Northeast Florida physician accused of mistakenly removing a patient's liver instead of his spleen during a 2024 surgery was arrested Monday on a second-degree manslaughter charge.
A grand jury indicted Dr. Thomas Shaknovsky following an investigation by the Walton County Sheriff's Office, state attorney's office and state medical authorities, Sheriff Michael Adkinson said in a news release.
Shaknovsky, 44, was taken into custody in Miramar Beach on Monday morning and transported to the Walton County Jail. He made his first appearance in court Tuesday and was released on $75,000 bond.
Prosecutors said the surgical error occurred on Aug. 21, 2024, during a planned laparoscopic splenectomy on 70-year-old William Bryan, of Muscle Shoals, Alabama.
Bryan and his wife, Beverly, were visiting a rental property in Okaloosa County when he began experiencing pain on his left side, according to a statement from Zarzaur Law, the firm representing Bryan's family.
He was admitted to Ascension Sacred Heart Emerald Coast Hospital in Miramar Beach, east of Destin, for "further studies pursuant to concern for an abnormality of the spleen."
According to state records, Shaknovsky recommended surgery, but Bryan refused and wanted to return to Alabama. According to state records and Zarzaur Law, Bryan was pressured by the surgeon until changing his mind.
The removed liver specimen was mislabeled as a "spleen," Zarzaur Law said, adding it wasn't until following Bryan's death that it was correctly identified.
Beverly Bryan, a longtime registered nurse, later told First Coast News in Jacksonville that Shaknovsky told her the cause of death was a ruptured splenic aneurysm. She was not aware of the true reason of her husband's death until autopsy results were released.
"The surgeon told Mrs. Bryan after the procedure that the 'spleen' was so diseased that it was four times bigger than usual and had migrated to the other side of Mr. Bryan's body," Zarzaur Law said.
The liver is a large, thick, organ dominating the right upper abdomen, while the spleen is a smaller structure tucked high on the left beneath the ribs.
Shaknovsky's Florida medical license was suspended in September 2024. Records show he voluntarily surrendered his medical license in Alabama after regulators moved to revoke his license. His medical license in New York was also suspended.
In his emergency suspension order, Florida Surgeon General Dr. Joseph Ladapo wrote, "Shaknovsky's continued practice of osteopathic medicine constitutes an immediate, serious danger to the health, safety, or welfare of the citizens of the State of Florida."
Available court records did not name an attorney for Shaknovsky.
Shaknovsky, whose Florida practice was in Destin, earned his doctor of osteopathic medicine degree from Midwestern University in 2009 and was first licensed in Florida in 2020. He was board certified in general surgery with privileges at Ascension Sacred Heart Emerald Coast, according to the state health department.
In a statement, Ascension Sacred Heart said Shaknovsky "was never a Sacred Heart Emerald Coast employee and has not practiced at any of our facilities since August 2024."
Information from the Associated Press was used in this report.
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