Thomas Shaknovsky, MD, a Florida surgeon, was charged April 13 with second-degree manslaughter in connection with the death of a 70-year-old man during surgery.
The Alabama man was vacationing in Florida when he experienced severe pain on his left side, The New York Times reported. After diagnostic imaging at Ascension Sacred Heart Emerald Coast Hospital in Miramar Beach, Fla., Dr. Shaknovsky told the patient his spleen had possibly enlarged. There was blood in the membrane lining, but no sign of hemorrhaging, a Florida Health Department filing said. Dr. Shaknovsky decided to remove the spleen — a minimally invasive procedure that is, however, still considered major surgery. The procedure is not often performed at the hospital, the Times said.
On Aug. 21, 2024, Dr. Shaknovsky performed the laparoscopic splenectomy, but removed the patient’s liver instead of spleen, according to an April 13 Walton County (Fla.) Sheriff’s Office news release. The mistake resulted in catastrophic blood loss, and the patient died on the operating table.
Colleagues in the operating room “had concerns that Dr. Shaknovsky did not have the skill level to safely perform this procedure,” the Health Department report said. He began the procedure as a laparoscopy, but switched to open surgery due to a distended colon that partly obstructed the view and he had failed to document. The patient immediately began to hemorrhage and went into cardiac arrest. While his colleagues began emergency transfusions and tried to revive the patient, Dr. Shaknovsky reportedly continued dissecting the patient’s organs. He ultimately removed the patient’s liver, thinking it was the spleen. The Health Department noted in its report that the spleen and liver are on different sides of the abdomen and are anatomically distinct, have different consistencies and are different colors.
In follow-up interviews, Dr. Shaknovsky told the Health Department that he was dissecting the spleen when an apparent aneurysm ruptured and caused severe bleeding. An autopsy showed the patient’s liver was missing, his spleen was intact and there was no evidence of a ruptured aneurysm.
Dr. Shaknovsky’s medical license was suspended one month after the patient’s death. He was arrested on April 13 and is scheduled to be arraigned on May 19. If convicted, he faces up to 15 years in prison.
“At Ascension, patient safety is our top priority,” an Ascension Sacred Heart spokesperson told Becker’s. “Surgeons practicing at our facilities, employed and affiliated, must meet rigorous credentialing standards, which includes holding a valid state license. The majority of surgeons and physicians are specialty board certified with the remainder on a pathway to board certification. Dr. Shaknovsky was never a Sacred Heart Emerald Coast employee and has not practiced at any of our facilities since August 2024. We remain focused on upholding the standards our patients and community expect of us.”
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