Tuesday Political Cartoons: Quack Doctor
Posted: May 12, 2026 Filed under: just because Leave a comment
So today I am going to focus on the doctor that removed the wrong organ and killed his patient.
These are some of the comments from the facebook post on this Guardian article:
While Shaknovsky first claimed to investigators that he was able to control the aneurysm, he later admitted that “he had never been able to control the aneurysm, but instead decided to complete the splenectomy in a last-ditch effort to control the bleeding after [William] had already been in cardiac arrest for 15 minutes.”
Furthermore, a medical examiner later performed an autopsy on William and found no evidence to suggest there had ever been an aneurysm in the body. In fact, the medical examiner found that the patient had lost their life because Shaknovsky had managed to dissect his inferior vena cava, the largest vein in the body.
Meanwhile, William’s spleen and its attachments were “untouched” and “in the normal position.” Shaknovsky has since been barred from practicing medicine in both Alabama and Florida.
As you see from the comments up top, this is not the first time this doctor has fucked things up.
Key Takeaways
- Dr. Thomas Shaknovsky, 44, was indicted on second-degree manslaughter charges after allegedly removing a 70-year-old patient’s liver instead of his spleen during a 2024 surgery at a Florida hospital, resulting in catastrophic blood loss and death on the operating table.
- The victim’s wife, a registered nurse, was initially told her husband died from a ruptured spleen. An autopsy later revealed the spleen was untouched and the liver had been removed. OR staff reportedly raised concerns about the surgeon’s competence before the procedure began.
- Shaknovsky faces up to 15 years in prisonand has had his medical licenses suspended in Florida, Alabama, and New York. The case raises critical questions about surgical safety protocols and nurse advocacy in the OR.
What Happened During the Surgery
On August 21, 2024, Bryan was scheduled for a laparoscopic splenectomy at Ascension Sacred Heart Emerald Coast Hospital in Miramar Beach, Florida. According to prosecutors, what happened next was far from routine.
Shaknovsky allegedly converted the minimally invasive procedure to an open surgery without proper documentation, then blindly fired a stapling device into the patient’s abdomen. At one point during the operation, he reportedly told staff, “That’s scary,” after feeling a pulsing vessel.
Bryan died on the operating table from catastrophic blood loss. An autopsy later revealed that his spleen and its attachments were completely untouched and in their normal position. His liver, however, was missing entirely.
Prosecutors allege that Shaknovsky told staff the cause of death was a ruptured splenic artery aneurysm and insisted the removed organ be labeled as a “spleen” for pathology. The medical examiner found no evidence to support his claim. According to a civil lawsuit, the person responsible for labeling the organ reportedly knew it was not a spleen but followed the surgeon’s instructions.
Perhaps most troubling for nurses: OR staff reportedly had concerns before the surgery even began that Shaknovsky lacked the skill for the procedure. They also raised issues about surgical timing and insufficient staffing.
According to NBC News, Shaknovsky also operated on Dorothy Dorsett, 76, a Miramar Beach resident who died on Aug. 4, 2023, following complications from surgery to remove a tumor.
Both procedures were performed at Ascension Sacred Heart Emerald Coast in Miramar Beach, where Destin-based Shaknovsky had surgical privileges.
NBC News spoke with Dorsett’s son, Weyman Dorsett, who said he sensed something was wrong almost immediately after his mother’s procedure.
“I’ll never forget … the look on that doctor’s face,” he said, describing an intensive care physician reviewing her chart and “shaking his head, like, ‘What in the living hell is going on?’”
After the tumor was removed from her digestive tract, Dorothy Dorsett’s condition quickly deteriorated, according to a lawsuit cited by NBC News. She struggled to eat, developed a rapid heartbeat and was eventually moved to intensive care.
“She just started really spiraling, pain,” her son said. “She was not my mom.”
Despite being told the surgery “went great,” Dorsett said his mother’s health declined sharply. He recalled being called back to the hospital, where his mother told him she believed she was going to die. He said he then “had to sit there and watch her die.”
How horrible…
Now the cartoons via Cagle:
Be careful out there, and stay safe.
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