A family is mourning the loss of their loved one due to a grave error made by a Florida doctor. William Bryan, 70, passed away last month after a surgical procedure in which the wrong organ was removed.
William, father of three, began experiencing left-sided flank pain while visiting the family’s rental property in Okaloosa County this summer. Concerned about his symptoms, he sought medical attention and was admitted to a hospital for further evaluation, with doctors focusing on the possibility of an abnormality related to his spleen, according to an attorney representing William’s wife Beverly.
The medical team at Ascension Sacred Heart Emerald Coast Hospital in Walton County informed the family that serious complications could arise if William were to leave the hospital. Trusting the medical professionals, they agreed to proceed with a hand-assisted laparoscopic splenectomy. However, the family’s attorney claims that during the surgery, the doctor mistakenly removed William’s liver instead of his spleen, causing severe blood loss and leading to his death.
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The attorney further alleges that the surgeon misidentified the removed organ, labeling it as a “spleen.” It was only after William’s death that the true nature of the organ was discovered. Despite the surgeon’s assertion to William’s wife, Beverly, that the spleen was severely enlarged and had migrated to the opposite side of his body, the attorney noted that typical human anatomy indicates the liver is located on the right side of the abdominal cavity and is significantly larger than the spleen. Following the surgery, the family was informed that William’s spleen remained intact, albeit with a small cyst on its surface.
Compounding the tragedy, it has come to light that the same surgeon had previously been involved in a “wrong-site surgery” in 2023, where he mistakenly removed a portion of a patient’s pancreas instead of performing a planned adrenal gland resection. Despite this past incident, the surgeon continued to practice without consequence.
In a heartfelt statement, Beverly expressed her anguish: “My husband died while helpless on the operating room table at the hands of Dr. Shaknovsky. I don’t want anyone else to die due to his incompetence at a hospital that should have known or been aware of his previous drastic, life-altering surgical mistakes.”