An Alabama man reportedly suffered an “immediate and catastrophic” death when an operation ended with a Florida surgeon removing the wrong organ.
(Video Credit: WMBB)
A visit to their rental property in Okaloosa County went tragically wrong for William and Beverly Bryan when the 70-year-old man from Muscle Shoals, Alabama began experiencing pain on his left side. Concern about his spleen allegedly led doctors to cajole the couple into signing off on surgery that left Beverly a widow seeking “justice” after her husband’s liver was removed instead.
Posting on Facebook, the retired nurse’s legal counsel, Zarzaur Law P.A., claimed that General Surgeon Dr. Thomas Shaknovsky and the hospital’s Chief Medical Officer Dr. Christopher Bacani had persuaded Bryan to undergo surgery or he “could experience serious complications if he left the hospital.”
“We called Bill’s doctor, here at home in Northwest Alabama and he told Bill that he would have surgeons here in North Alabama waiting when we got home,” the grieving widow told WMBB as she recounted her experience at Ascension Sacred Heart Emerald Coast Hospital in Walton County, Florida. “I tried to convince Dr. Shaknovsky to let me take him home, or arrange for him to be transported. But Dr. Shaknovsky said that Bill would bleed to death if he was moved.”
Ultimately, after agreeing to a hand-assisted laparoscopic splenectomy on Aug. 21, the law firm detailed that Bryan’s liver was removed “and, in so doing, transected the major vasculature supplying the liver, causing immediate and catastrophic blood loss resulting in death.”
It was then alleged that “The surgeon proceeded with labeling the removed liver specimen as a ‘spleen,’ and it wasn’t until following the death that it was identified that the organ removed was actually Mr. Bryan’s liver, as opposed to the spleen.”
“The surgeon told Mrs. Bryan after the procedure that the ‘spleen’ was so diseased that it was four times bigger than usual and had migrated to the other side of Mr. Bryan’s body,” the counsel claimed before the family later learned the spleen was still in the decedent’s body and appeared to have only a small cyst on the surface.
In addition to the tragedy that took place for the Byran family, the law firm explained that Shaknovsky had a “previous wrong-site surgery” the year prior that was settled in confidence after a portion of a patient’s pancreas was removed while performing surgery on the adrenal gland.
“My husband died while helpless on the operating room table by Dr. Shaknovsky,” Beverely told WMBB. “I don’t want anyone else to die due to this incompetence at a hospital that should have known or knew he had previously made drastic, life-altering surgical mistakes.”
For his part, attorney Joe Zarzaur told the outlet, “If you’re Dr. Shaknovsky’s patient, I have no qualms in telling you you should ask for a different doctor. I would go so far as to say just be very careful if you’re even seeing the doctor for something non-surgical. That guy, I would not allow him to do anything with anybody here.”
The firm’s statement added, “Our goal at Zarzaur Law is to get justice for the Bryan family and make our community safer one case at a time.”
Meanwhile, a statement from the hospital to AL.com explained, “We take allegations like this very seriously, and our leadership team is performing a thorough investigation into this event. Ascension Sacred Heart Emerald Coast has a longstanding history of providing safe, quality care since the hospital opened its doors in 2003.”
“Patient safety is and remains our number one priority,” it went on. “Our thoughts and prayers remain with the family. We hold the privacy of our patients in the highest regard. We do not comment on specific patient cases or active litigation.”
Additionally, the Walton County Sheriff’s Office indicated that they were reviewing the facts around the death of Bryan and made clear, “At this time, it would be incorrect to say criminal charges have been filed.”
Native of Brooklyn, NY, Kevin Haggerty is a graduate of Hunter College where he studied Cultural Anthropology and Geography. An avid reader and truth seeker, he currently resides in Texas with his wife and their dog and, when he isn't researching current events and their impacts, you'll find him spending time with friends and family or working on his next novel.
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