Florida surgeon couldn’t tell the difference between a liver and a spleen and now a patient is paying for it

A Florida grand jury officially indicted surgeon Dr. Thomas Shaknovsky on Monday, April 13, 2026, on a second-degree manslaughter charge after prosecutors say he removed a patient’s liver instead of his spleen during a 2024 operation, resulting in the man’s death.

The First Judicial Circuit State Attorney’s Office announced the indictment Monday, saying Shaknovsky now faces criminal charges tied to an Aug. 21, 2024, surgery at Ascension Sacred Heart Emerald Coast Hospital in Florida’s Panhandle. He was taken into custody following the grand jury’s decision, according to FOX 13 Tampa Bay.

What prosecutors allege happened

According to prosecutors and statements from the Walton County Sheriff’s Office, Shaknovsky was scheduled to perform a laparoscopic splenectomy on William Bryan, a 70-year-old man from Muscle Shoals, Alabama, a procedure intended to remove the spleen.

Investigators allege that during the operation, the surgeon mistakenly removed the patient’s liver instead. The error allegedly caused catastrophic internal bleeding, and the patient died on the operating table.

According to the Florida Department of Health’s emergency suspension order, Shaknovsky allegedly fired a stapling device “blindly” into Bryan’s abdomen during the 2024 surgery.

Witnesses in the operating room reportedly told investigators that when Shaknovsky removed the organ, he insisted it was the spleen, even after staff raised concerns. He allegedly instructed staff to label the 2,106-gram liver as a “spleen” (a normal spleen typically weighs around 150-200 grams).

Shaknovsky’s suspended license

Following the 2024 surgery, Florida health regulators suspended Shaknovsky’s medical license. Records also show he voluntarily surrendered his Alabama medical license after regulators moved to revoke it, according to documents cited by investigators.

Authorities said the case was reviewed through an investigation involving the sheriff’s office and state medical officials before being presented to a grand jury, which determined there was sufficient evidence to proceed with criminal charges.

Following the autopsy, the medical examiner officially ruled Bryan’s death a homicide in late 2024, which laid the groundwork for the criminal charges filed this week

Arrest and charges

Shaknovsky has been indicted for second-degree manslaughter, a felony under Florida law, alleging reckless conduct that results in death. He was booked into the Walton County Jail. Court records did not immediately list an attorney representing him.

This was notably not the first time Dr. Shaknovsky allegedly removed the wrong organ. In May 2023, he reportedly removed a portion of a patient’s pancreas instead of an adrenal gland. That patient survived but suffered permanent injuries.

In both the 2023 pancreas incident and the 2024 liver incident, Shaknovsky reportedly claimed the organs had “migrated” or were in an unusual location. In the Bryan case, he specifically told the widow that the spleen was “grossly enlarged” and had migrated to the other side of the body, a claim the autopsy later proved false.

Shaknovsky is expected to make an initial court appearance in Walton County in the coming days. Prosecutors have not publicly said whether additional charges are being considered as the case proceeds.