Florida surgeon who removed wrong organ says he is ‘forever traumatized’ by patient’s death

FIRST ON NBC NEWSU.S. newsU.S. newsFlorida surgeon who removed wrong organ says he is ‘forever traumatized’ by patient’s deathThomas Shaknovsky said in a deposition in November that he believed he was removing 70-year-old William Bryan’s spleen but accidentally removed his liver.Listen to this article with a free account00:0000:00 body:has(.jw-flag-floating) .article-hero__container, body:has(.jw-flag-floating) .article-hero__media-holder, body:has(.jw-flag-floating) #content { z-index: auto; } Add NBC News to GoogleWatch: Arrest of Florida surgeon accused of removing wrong organ from patient00:55Get more newsLiveonShareAdd NBC News to GoogleMay 7, 2026, 5:00 AM EDTBy Elizabeth Chuck and Matt LavietesOver the course of an eight-hour deposition, Florida surgeon Thomas Shaknovsky faced the same question again and again: Why did he remove a man’s liver instead of his spleen?Subscribe to read this story ad-free Get unlimited access to ad-free articles and exclusive content.The disastrous August 2024 surgical error and death of Shaknovsky’s patient, 70-year-old William Bryan, on the operating table prompted Bryan’s widow to file a lawsuit last year and a grand jury to indict Shaknovsky on a manslaughter charge last month. He has pleaded not guilty. Exactly what went wrong during the planned splenectomy has remained a mystery — especially since Shaknovsky has not spoken publicly about the case. A deposition Shaknovsky gave in November as part of the lawsuit offers his first detailed, emotional account of the operation. Shaknovsky said there were unusual factors that made Bryan’s procedure more difficult. And he described the profound toll of losing a patient, saying he broke down in tears afterward.Officers arrest Thomas Shaknovsky in Miramar Beach, Fla., on April 13.Walton County Sheriff’s Office“That was an incredibly unfortunate event that I regret deeply, and I’m forever traumatized by it and hurt by it,” he said, according to a transcript of the deposition shared wit...