Last month, Dr. Thomas Shaknovsky removed Bill Bryan's liver instead of his spleen. The patient died. The fatal organ mix-up was the last straw for Florida's Department of Health, which suspended Shaknovsky's license.
The order included a 21-page document describing Shaknovsky's shocking mistakes and attempts to cover them up.
According to Law & Crime, Shaknovsky removed a portion of the man's pancreas instead of his adrenal gland. "The order noted the stark anatomical differences between the two organs: adrenal glands are small triangular glands located on the top of each kidney while the pancreas is a large gland located behind the stomach and surrounded by the gallbladder, liver, and spleen."
When he was called out for the error, Shaknovsky said the patient's adrenal gland had "migrated" to a new location in the man's body. "The patient suffered permanent harm as a result of the surgical error," reports Law & Crime.
In another instance, Shaknovsky was an hour late for a splenectomy procedure. The report says he bumbled the operation so badly that he "fired a stapling device blindly" into the patient's abdomen and was "unable to properly identify the organ that he actually removed."
As for his latest screw-up, Law & Crime describes the macabre aftermath:
According to the order, operating staff saw that the surgeon had removed the wrong organ.
"The staff looked at the readily-identifiable liver on the table and were shocked when Dr. Shaknovsky told them it was a spleen," said the order. "One staff member felt sick to their stomach."
Moreover, it said, Shaknovksy had another staffer label the organ "spleen" for transport to the pathology lab. According to the report, the person followed Shaknovksy's instructions and labeled the organ "spleen," all while knowing that the label was incorrect.
Attorney Joe Zarzau announced he will file a civil lawsuit against Shaknovksy on behalf of Bryan's widow.
