US man dies mid-surgery after doctor mistakenly removes liver instead of spleen

A US man tragically died in a Florida hospital after the doctor operating on him mistakenly removed his wrong organ. 70-year-old William Bryan was admitted to Ascension Sacred Heart Emerald Coast Hospital after he experienced lower left abdominal pain while visiting a rental property with his wife Beverly.

The doctors there recommended he undergo surgery after flagging concerns regarding an abnormality of the spleen.

Now, according to a lawyer representing the man’s widow, the doctor, identified as Shaknovsky, mistakenly removed William’s liver and attempted to pass it off as an “enlarged spleen.”

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A Facebook post by the law firm alleged that the surgical cut resulted in "immediate and catastrophic blood loss resulting in death."

"From the records, it appears that both physicians were involved in the discussion as to the appropriateness of the planned procedure and the capabilities of the facility to accommodatesuch," the law firm wrote.

The doctors allegedly told Beverly later that her husband's "spleen" was so diseased that it was four times bigger than usual and had migrated to the other side of his body.

"The family was informed that Mr Bryan's spleen, the root of his original symptom profile upon presentation to the hospital, was still in his body and appeared with a small cyst on its surface," the law firm said.

The law firm also cited a 2023 surgery by Shaknovsky, claiming he had done a “wrong-site surgery” previously where he removed a portion of a patient's pancreas instead of performing the intended adrenal gland resection.

William Bryan’s wife has now launched a campaign through her legal firm to get “justice” and make sure Shaknovsky loses his license.

"My husband died while helpless on the operating room table, by DrShaknovsky. I don't want anyone else to die due to his incompetence at a hospital that should have known or knew he had previously made drastic, life-altering surgical mistakes," the widow said in a statement.

(With inputs from agencies)