Doctor indicted after allegedly removing liver instead of spleen in fatal surgery

U.S. newsFlorida doctor indicted after allegedly removing patient's liver instead of spleen in fatal surgeryDr. Thomas Shaknovsky was indicted by a grand jury with second-degree manslaughter in the August 2024 death of a 70-year-old Alabama man. Listen to this article with a free account00:0000:00A Florida doctor, Dr. Thomas Shaknovsky, was arrested and charged with second-degree manslaughter following the August 2024 death of a 70-year-old Alabama man during surgery, authorities said.Kriangkrai Thitimakorn / Getty ImagesShareAdd NBC News to GoogleApril 14, 2026, 11:05 AM EDT / Updated April 14, 2026, 11:15 AM EDTBy Matt LavietesA Florida doctor has been indicted in connection with the death of a 70-year-old man after allegedly removing the wrong organ during surgery.Subscribe to read this story ad-free Get unlimited access to ad-free articles and exclusive content.Dr. Thomas Shaknovsky, 44, was indicted by a grand jury with second-degree manslaughter in the August 2024 death of a 70-year-old man from Muscle Shoals, Alabama, the Office of the State Attorney for the First Judicial Circuit said Tuesday. He was taken into custody in Miramar Beach, Florida, on Monday morning and transported to the Walton County Jail ahead of his court appearance Tuesday. Prosecutors allege in a press release that on Aug. 21, 2024, during what was scheduled to be a laparoscopic splenectomy, Shaknovsky accidentally removed the unnamed victim's liver instead of his spleen. The move resulted in "catastrophic blood loss and the patient’s death on the operating table," the press release said. After the surgery, the Alabama Board of Medical Examiners filed a court order to temporarily suspend Shaknovsky's medical license. That license was revoked by the Alabama Medical Licensure Commission that same year.His Florida license was also suspended in 2024.The court order to suspend his license states that Shaknovsky recommended surgery after the 70-year-old patient came into the hospital with...