• U.S. surgeon faces criminal charge after fatal surgical error
• Court testimony reveals disturbing details following incident

A Florida surgeon is facing criminal charges after a surgical mistake that led to the death of a patient. He said he is deeply shocked and remorseful over the fatal outcome.

In a deposition (testimony) taken in November and recently obtained, 44-year-old Thomas Shaknovsky described the death of 70-year-old William Bryan as “an extremely unfortunate incident” and said he deeply regrets what happened.

Bryan died following the botched procedure, and in April a grand jury in Tallahassee indicted Shaknovsky on manslaughter charges.

In his testimony, the doctor said he was “permanently traumatized” and emotionally devastated by the incident, adding that wrong-site surgical errors can occur in “difficult circumstances.”

The deposition also revealed new details about the operation. Shaknovsky said that after mistakenly removing the patient’s liver, he asked a nurse to label the organ as the “spleen,” and also recorded it as such in his post-operative report.

He further stated that he was emotionally overwhelmed at the time, saying he was crying and felt he had failed to save the patient.

The lawsuit filed by the patient’s widow alleges medical negligence and claims the doctor attempted to conceal his mistake, according to U.S. media reports.

Authorities in Walton County said the error caused severe internal bleeding, and the patient died on the operating table.

If convicted, Shaknovsky could face up to 15 years in prison and a fine of up to $10,000.