British surgeon accused of branding patient's liver

A British surgeon in Birmingham is being investigated for allegedly branding his initials on a patient's liver during a transplant surgery.

Simon Bramhall, who works at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham, is accused of burning "SB" on an unnamed patient's liver.

The brand was spotted by a fellow surgeon during later routine surgery. It is speculated that Bramhall may have done the same to hundreds of other patients.

Bramhall allegedly used a beam of argon gas, used for sealing blood vessels, to brand his initials on the liver. While this will leave superficial scarring, experts believe it is not harmful to the organ.

“This is a patient we are talking about, not an autograph book,” said Joyce Robins of Patient Concern, an organization that works to empower health care users.

University Hospitals Birmingham Trust said it “suspended a surgeon while an internal investigation is completed,” though Bramhall denies that he was suspended.

[The Telegraph]