When a Surgeon Removes the Wrong Organ: What Happened and Why It Matters

In August 2024, a 70-year-old man went into surgery at Ascension Sacred Heart Emerald Coast in Miramar Beach, Florida, for a planned laparoscopic splenectomy. During the operation the surgeon cut and removed the patient’s liver instead of the spleen, which led to catastrophic blood loss and the patient’s death.

Florida’s emergency suspension order later described how the operation moved from laparoscopy to an open procedure when visibility became poor, and how the surgeon continued to dissect the wrong organ even as the patient went into cardiac arrest. The order said the surgeon completed the splenectomy after the patient had been in cardiac arrest for 15 minutes, and that the bleeding could not be controlled.

A Walton County grand jury returned an indictment in April 2026 charging Dr. Thomas Shaknovsky with second‑degree manslaughter. Law enforcement and medical authorities had conducted a two‑year inquiry; he was arrested in Miramar Beach, booked at the Walton County Jail, and later released on bond while pretrial matters proceed.

The emergency order also cited prior surgical errors and alleged problems with medical records that prompted disciplinary action in more than one state. State boards in Alabama and New York also took action after the Florida order, and records show Dr. Shaknovsky surrendered or faced suspension of licenses in other states. The patient’s family has filed a wrongful death lawsuit and civil proceedings remain separate from the criminal case.