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

On August 21, 2024, a 70-year-old man underwent a laparoscopic splenectomy at Ascension Sacred Heart Emerald Coast in Miramar Beach, Florida. Surgeons intended to remove the spleen, but the patient’s liver was cut and removed instead. The mistake caused catastrophic blood loss and the patient died on the operating table. Florida health officials later suspended the surgeon’s license after investigators reviewed the case and related records.

The surgeon, Dr. Thomas Shaknovsky, has been indicted by a grand jury in April 2026 on a charge of second‑degree manslaughter. He was arrested in Miramar Beach and later released on bond while he waits for a court date. The Florida Department of Health issued an emergency suspension order in September 2024 that described repeated surgical errors and record problems. The emergency order was signed by State Surgeon General Joseph A. Ladapo. State documents described earlier errors, including an incident in 2023 when part of a patient’s pancreas was removed instead of an adrenal gland. Hospitals and medical boards in multiple states later reviewed his cases.