The Press

Surgeon ‘branded initials on to patient’s liver’

- Sonia Elks

A British surgeon has been suspended over allegation­s that he branded his initials on to a patient’s liver during surgery.

The initials were reportedly found by a colleague who was carrying out a later operation on the patient and raised the alarm.

A consultant has been sus- pended from Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham while its National Health Service Trust carries out an investigat­ion into the claims.

The surgeon is accused of using a beam of argon gas, used for sealing vessels, to sear his initials into the patient’s organ, according to The Sun newspaper.

Experts said that this would leave superficia­l burns but was not usually harmful.

An source close to the consultant expressed shock at the allegation­s.

‘‘It is quite astonishin­g to think someone may have done this’’, the source told The Daily Telegraph.

‘‘I am hoping this is just a mistake. I don’t know what would possess someone to do that to another human being. What gives a person the right to do that to another?

‘‘There should be trust between the two people, although now people may think otherwise about coming to the hospital if the allegation­s are true.

Joyce Robins, of Patient Concern, said: ‘‘This is a patient we are talking about, not an autograph book.’’

The trust said: ‘‘Following an allegation of misconduct, University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust has suspended a surgeon while an internal investigat­ion is completed’’.

The General Medical Council in Britain would not comment on whether it was carrying out an investigat­ion into the claims.

Newspapers in English

Newspapers from New Zealand