'Dangerous' Surgeon Removed Wrong Organ During Surgery: Cops
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Summary
Takeaways
- ❖Dr. Thomas Shaknowski, a former surgeon, was arrested for second-degree manslaughter after allegedly removing a 70-year-old patient's liver instead of their spleen, causing death.
- ❖The fatal surgery occurred in August 2024 at Ascension Sacred Heart Emerald Coast, with the arrest taking place in April 2026 after a grand jury indictment.
- ❖Operating room staff reportedly expressed concerns about Dr. Shaknowski's competence and the complexity of the spleen removal procedure before it began, but the Chief Medical Officer allegedly took no action.
- ❖Witnesses in the operating room stated Dr. Shaknowski fired a stapling device 'blindly' and removed an organ weighing over 2100 grams, which was clearly a liver, not the 70-200 gram spleen.
- ❖The hospital allegedly went into 'damage control' mode post-death, with staff reportedly told to label the removed organ as a spleen, and Dr. Shaknowski informing the widow her husband died from a splenic artery aneurysm.
- ❖A house supervisor allegedly chased the widow into the parking lot to sign a form rejecting an autopsy, and forms for the medical examiner were allegedly falsified.
- ❖A pathologist ultimately identified the removed organ as liver tissue, leading the medical examiner to certify the death as homicide due to 'surgical removal of the liver' while the spleen remained untouched.
- ❖Dr. Shaknowski had a prior incident in May 2023 where he allegedly removed a portion of a patient's pancreas instead of an adrenal gland, causing permanent harm.
- ❖The lawsuit alleges Ascension Sacred Heart knew about at least three surgical errors involving Shaknowski between May 2023 and August 2024 but allowed him to retain privileges.
- ❖Attorney Joe Zarzar characterized Dr. Shaknowski's continued arrogance after such a severe mistake as 'psychopathic type level,' noting the surgeon still believes he was a 'hero'.
Insights
1Fatal Surgical Error and Manslaughter Charges
Dr. Thomas Shaknowski, a surgeon, was indicted for second-degree manslaughter after allegedly removing the liver of 70-year-old William Bryan during a supposed spleen removal surgery, leading to Bryan's death. This critical error occurred in August 2024, and Shaknowski was arrested in April 2026 while working as a rideshare driver.
Police allege Shaknowski removed the liver of a 70-year-old man, William Bryan, instead of his spleen, killing him on the operating table. The Walton County grand jury indicted Dr. Thomas Shaknowski for second-degree manslaughter on April 13th, 2026.
2Alleged Hospital Cover-Up and Falsification of Records
Following Mr. Bryan's death, his widow's lawsuit alleges that Ascension Sacred Heart Emerald Coast and its leadership engaged in a cover-up. This included allegedly instructing staff to mislabel the removed liver as a spleen, misrepresenting the cause of death to the family, and pressuring the widow to decline an autopsy.
The civil lawsuit alleges the hospital went into 'damage control mode,' with the CEO, CMO, and Shaknowski's business partner meeting with staff. Shaknowski allegedly told staff to label the removed organ as a spleen, and a house supervisor allegedly chased Beverly Bryan into the parking lot to sign a form rejecting an autopsy. The medical examiner later certified the death as homicide due to 'surgical removal of the liver'.
3Pattern of Surgical Errors and Institutional Negligence
This was not Dr. Shaknowski's first alleged 'wrong organ' surgery. In 2023, he reportedly removed a patient's pancreas instead of an adrenal gland. The lawsuit claims the hospital knew about multiple surgical errors involving Shaknowski but allowed him to maintain privileges, drawing parallels to a previous case at another Ascension hospital involving a surgeon with a 'concerning and disturbing pattern of deviations'.
The Florida Department of Health emergency suspension order states that in May 2023, Shaknowski removed a portion of a patient's pancreas instead of an adrenal gland. The lawsuit alleges Ascension Sacred Heart reported three surgical errors involving Shaknowski to the state between May 2023 and August 2024, yet he kept his privileges. The host references a similar case at Ascension's St. Vincent hospital with Dr. R. David Heekin.
4Surgeon's 'Psychopathic' Arrogance and Denial
Attorney Joe Zarzar described Dr. Shaknowski's demeanor as 'arrogance on a different level,' bordering on 'psychopathic.' Despite the clear evidence and tragic outcome, Shaknowski allegedly maintained that he was a 'hero' and that the patient died from a splenic artery rupture, not the removal of the wrong organ, even after having time to examine the organ post-surgery.
Attorney Joe Zarzar states, 'If you make a mistake this bad and you're still arrogant, it's a different kind of arrogance at that point. It's psychopathic type level.' He also noted that Shaknowski spent 10 minutes studying the organ in the pathology lab after the patient died but still maintained it was a spleen, not a liver.
Lessons
- Patients and their families should actively question medical recommendations, especially for elective surgeries, and seek second opinions if any hesitation or pressure is felt.
- Be aware of your rights regarding medical records and autopsies. Do not feel pressured to sign forms rejecting autopsies, especially in cases of unexpected death during medical procedures.
- Understand that civil lawsuits and criminal charges operate on separate tracks; pursuing one does not preclude the other. Families affected by medical negligence can seek justice through both avenues.
- Advocate for greater transparency and accountability from healthcare institutions regarding surgical errors and physician performance. Hospitals should have robust systems for reporting and addressing physician misconduct.
Notable Moments
Dr. Shaknowski's arrest while working as a rideshare driver.
The arrest highlights the two-year gap between the alleged surgical error and the criminal charges, during which the surgeon continued to operate and then worked in public-facing roles.
Operating room staff expressing apprehension about Dr. Shaknowski's competence before surgery.
This indicates that concerns about the surgeon were known within the hospital, raising questions about why the procedure was allowed to proceed and the role of hospital leadership in patient safety.
The alleged attempt by hospital staff to prevent an autopsy and falsify medical records.
This suggests a deliberate effort to conceal the truth, undermining trust in medical institutions and complicating the pursuit of justice for the victim's family.
Discovery of Dr. Shaknowski's previous 'wrong organ' surgery.
This reveals a pattern of severe surgical errors, emphasizing a systemic failure in credentialing, oversight, or intervention by the hospital and regulatory bodies.
Quotes
"If you make a mistake this bad, and you're still arrogant, um, it's a different kind of arrogance at that point, is it? And what police and a lawsuit claimed happened after that surgery is where this story gets even more shocking."
"They did not have confidence in defendant Czechnavowski, were uncomfortable with having this procedure at ASHC since they were not regularly performed there, and that they felt defendant Cchknowski was not skilled enough to handle such procedure."
"When he pulled the organ out, and this is twisted, the organ wasn't a spleen. One staff member reportedly felt sick to their stomach because of what they saw on the table was clearly a liver."
"The reaction he had was, 'Y'all are y'all the media, y'all the Agency for Healthcare Administration, and this lawyer who I call a terrorist potentially, um, and he used my name, uh, is coming after us, and all it's doing is running off good physicians like Dr. Shagnowski and it's creating more work for me and my other colleague here because Dr. Shagnoski, the good, considerate gentleman he is, can't practice medicine anymore.'"
"The general surgeons I speak to... all believe that the only way a general surgeon that's board certified in this specialty can make this mistake is if they're mentally deranged or they have some uh organic brain disorder, early dementia uh or their own drugs."
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