By Zoila Palma: A Florida doctor has been indicted in connection with the death of a 70-year-old man after prosecutors say the wrong organ was removed during surgery.
Dr. Thomas Shaknovsky, 44, was indicted by a grand jury on a charge of second-degree manslaughter in the August 2024 death of a man from Muscle Shoals, Alabama, according to the Office of the State Attorney for the First Judicial Circuit.
NBC reports that Shaknovsky was taken into custody in Miramar Beach, Florida, on Monday morning and transported to the Walton County Jail ahead of a scheduled court appearance.
Prosecutors allege that during a planned laparoscopic splenectomy on Aug. 21, 2024, the doctor mistakenly removed the patient’s liver instead of his spleen, resulting in catastrophic blood loss and the patient dying on the operating table.
Court filings state the patient had been admitted with abdominal pain, with imaging suggesting a possible enlarged spleen and internal bleeding. The documents allege Shaknovsky advised surgery over several days and continued to urge the patient to proceed, despite the patient initially wanting to return home to Alabama. Prosecutors also claim the operation continued even as the patient went into cardiac arrest.
After the surgery, Shaknovsky reportedly stated the patient died from a ruptured splenic artery aneurysm.
However, an autopsy cited in court filings found no evidence of such a condition. Instead, investigators alleged the spleen remained untouched in its normal position, while the patient’s liver was missing.
The post International News: Doctor in Florida indicted after allegedly removing patient’s liver instead of spleen in fatal surgery appeared first on Belize News and Opinion on www.breakingbelizenews.com.
By Zoila Palma: A Florida doctor has been indicted in connection with the death of a 70-year-old man after prosecutors say the wrong organ was removed during surgery. Dr. Thomas Shaknovsky, 44, was indicted by a grand jury on a charge of second-degree manslaughter in the August 2024 death of a man from Muscle Shoals,
The post International News: Doctor in Florida indicted after allegedly removing patient’s liver instead of spleen in fatal surgery appeared first on Belize News and Opinion on www.breakingbelizenews.com.
