A Florida surgeon has said he is 'forever traumatised' by the death of a patient whose liver he mistakenly removed instead of his spleen. Thomas Shaknovsky, 44, faces a manslaughter charge over the death of 70-year-old William Bryan during surgery in August 2023.
In a deposition obtained by NBC, Shaknovsky described the incident as an 'incredibly unfortunate event that I regret deeply'. He said he had been 'mentally compromised' at the time, adding: 'I'm forever traumatised by it and hurt by it.'
According to the deposition, after removing Bryan's liver, Shaknovsky instructed a nurse to label the organ as a 'spleen' and identified it as such in postoperative notes. A lawsuit filed by Bryan's widow alleges he did this to 'cover up' his negligence.
Shaknovsky described chaos in the operating room as Bryan suffered catastrophic blood loss. He said: 'It was like an overflown sink that's clogged up... After 20 minutes of struggling – desperately trying – to save his life, that's when the wrong-site event took place.'
Bryan's spleen was later found to be 'nearly normal' in size, contrary to Shaknovsky's claim that it was enlarged. If convicted, Shaknovsky faces up to 15 years in prison and a fine of up to $10,000.
