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Florida surgeon charged with killing man after removing liver instead of spleen
Florida surgeon Dr. Thomas Shaknovsky was indicted by a grand jury on a charge of second-degree manslaughter in the August 2024 death of a 70-year-old Alabama man, after prosecutors allege that during
Florida surgeon Dr. Thomas Shaknovsky was indicted by a grand jury on a charge of second-degree manslaughter in the August 2024 death of a 70-year-old Alabama man, after prosecutors allege that during a scheduled laparoscopic splenectomy, he accidentally removed the patient's liver instead of his spleen, resulting in catastrophic blood loss and the patient's death on the operating table. Following the surgery, Shaknovsky informed staff the cause of death was a ruptured splenic artery aneurysm and ordered the removed organ be labeled as a "spleen" for pathology, but the medical examiner found no evidence of a ruptured splenic artery aneurysm. Shaknovsky's Florida medical license was suspended in September 2024, he voluntarily surrendered his Alabama license after regulators moved to revoke it, and his New York license was also suspended.
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Source: Ars Technica | 2026-04-15