A widow has told of her heartbreak after her husband died on the operating table when a surgeon allegedly made a fatal error and removed the wrong organ.
Beverly Bryan has called for civil and criminal proceedings to be brought against Dr Thomas Shaknovsky following the death of her beloved husband William, who she had been married to for 33 years.
She said that her 70-year-old spouse had 'died while helpless' in the surgical suite at the Ascension Sacred Heart Emerald Coast Hospital in Walton County, Florida, as he underwent an emergency procedure, according to Zarzaur Law, who is representing her.
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The couple, from Alabama, had been visiting their rental property in Okaloosa County last month when William suddenly began to complain that he was experiencing pain in his side.
Medics at the health facility in the sunshine state allegedly found that the problem was due to an issue with his spleen, and are said to have urged the patient to allow them to carry out an operation.
William allegedly requested to be released from the hospital so that he could travel back home to Alabama to see his doctor on 18 August, but he was 'persuaded' to stay and undergo the procedure, according to a news release from the law firm.
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Zarzaur Law allege that the pensioner was warned he 'could experience serious complications if he left the hospital' by Dr Shaknovsky and the hospital’s Chief Medical Officer, Dr Christopher Bacani.
William agreed to have the operation and on 21 August, he was taken into surgery to undergo a hand-assisted laparoscopic splenectomy procedure, where medics were supposed to remove his spleen.
But Dr Shaknovsky is accused of mistakenly taking his liver out instead.
Zarzaur Law alleged that while doing so, the surgeon tore blood vessels which were connected to the organ - resulting in William suffering 'immediate and catastrophic blood loss, resulting in death'.
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The firm claims that the operating physician then informed Beverly that her husband's spleen was 'so diseased that it was four times bigger than usual and had migrated to the other side of (his) body'.
A spokesperson for Ascension told LADbible in a statement: "We take allegations like this very seriously, and our leadership team is performing a thorough investigation into this event.
"Ascension Sacred Heart Emerald Coast has a longstanding history of providing safe, quality care since the hospital opened its doors in 2001. Patient safety is and remains our number one priority.
"Our thoughts and prayers remain with the family. We hold the privacy of our patients in the highest regard. We do not comment on specific patient cases or active litigation."
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According to the NHS, the spleen is a fist-sized organ in the upper left side of the abdomen, which sits next to your stomach and behind your left ribs.
An autopsy found that a small cyst had appeared on William's spleen, which is believed to be the cause of the pain which he sought medical advice in Florida for.
Beverly says she is now on a mission to get 'justice' for her late husband.
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In a statement issued through her legal team, the widow said: "My husband died while helpless on the operating room table by Dr Shaknovsky.
"I don’t want anyone else to die due to his incompetence at a hospital that should have known or knew he had previously made drastic, life-altering surgical mistakes."
Dr Shaknovsky has not been criminally charged and has no disciplinary cases or public complaints on his file, the Miami Herald reported.
However, Beverly is hoping that civil and criminal proceedings will be brought against him, explaining that she intends to file a lawsuit following a pre-litigation process.
Ascension Sacred Heart Emerald Coast Hospital confirmed it had launched a probe into William's death.
Olivia Burke