A Florida surgeon removed a patient's liver instead of his spleen; the patient died.

A judge has charged 44-year-old Thomas Shakhnovsky with second-degree manslaughter in connection with the death of a 70-year-old Alabama man. As reported by NBC NewsDuring surgery in August 2024, a doctor removed the wrong organ from a patient.

Thomas Shakhnovsky, 44, was indicted by a grand jury on second-degree manslaughter charges in connection with the August 2024 death of a Muscle Shoals, Alabama, man, the First Judicial District Attorney's Office announced.

He was arrested Monday morning in Miramar Beach, Florida, and taken to the Walton County Jail ahead of an April 14 court hearing.

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Prosecutors allege that on August 21, 2024, during a scheduled laparoscopic splenectomy (spleen removal), Shakhnovsky mistakenly removed a patient's liver. This resulted in "catastrophic blood loss and the patient's death on the operating table," according to a press release.

The widow of the deceased, Beverly Bryan, said of her husband Bill's death: "When I tell people what happened, it still sounds too terrible to be true. I still have a hard time believing it happened."

Following the surgery, the Alabama Board of Medical Examiners filed a motion to temporarily suspend Shakhnovsky's medical license. That same year, the Alabama Medical Licensing Commission permanently revoked her license.

His Florida license was suspended in 2024 and his New York license was suspended in 2025.

The license suspension order states that Shakhnovsky recommended surgery after the 70-year-old patient was admitted to Ascension Sacred Heart Hospital Emerald Coast complaining of abdominal pain, and an examination "revealed a suspected enlarged spleen and blood in the abdomen in the absence of active bleeding."

According to the case file, over the next two days, Shakhnovsky tried to persuade the patient, who wanted to return home to Alabama, to undergo the surgery. On the third day of persuasion, the patient agreed.

According to the case materials, Shakhnovsky continued the operation even after the patient suffered cardiac arrest during the surgery.

"Dr. Shakhnovsky removed an organ he believed to be the spleen, but due to shock and chaos, was unable to correctly identify the organ," the documents note.

After the operation, the doctor stated that the patient died from a ruptured splenic artery aneurysm.

However, as stated in the case file, the autopsy found "no signs of a ruptured splenic artery aneurysm." Moreover, "the spleen and its ligaments remained intact and in their normal position, while the liver was missing."

The documents contain accusations against Shakhnovsky for two more cases of medical malpractice, one of which, the board claims, led to the death of another patient.

In one of these cases, the Council accuses Shakhnovsky of removing part of a patient's pancreas during a routine surgery in May 2023, when the plan was to remove the left adrenal gland.

Furthermore, the Council alleges that during another procedure in July 2023, Shakhnovsky removed part of the patient's intestine, causing a gastrointestinal perforation, or hole in the intestine. According to the case file, the patient was transferred to the intensive care unit shortly after the surgery and died.

According to public records from the Florida Department of Health, Shakhnovsky settled a medical malpractice lawsuit related to the May 2023 incident for $400,000 in 2024.

In 2025, Beverly Bryan filed a civil suit against Shakhnovsky, accusing the surgeon of causing her husband's death. The case was still pending when the surgeon was arrested this week.

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"He would have wanted his death to help prevent harm to others, and I think that's what the criminal charges will do," Beverly Bryan said of her husband. "If we had to go through this, and my husband died, at least no one else will have to suffer because of this man."

Despite the accusations, Shakhnovsky, citing public records from the Florida Department of Health, emphasized that "over the past 10 years, he has never been asked to resign, or had his license to practice medicine restricted or revoked."

According to public records, Shakhnovsky graduated from the Chicago College of Osteopathic Medicine at Midwestern University in 2009.

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