Surgeon who branded his initials on patients’ organs fined thousands

A surgeon who branded his initials into patients’ organs has been fined £10,000 (AU$17,000).

According to reports, a court heard Simon Bramhall, 53, used an argon beam to mark two patients’ livers with “SB” in a “naive and foolhardy” attempt to relieve tension in the operating theatre. He was working at Birmingham’s Queen Elizabeth Hospital at the time.

He previously pleaded guilty to two counts of assault by beating relating to two incidents on February 9 and August 21 in 2013, and denied the more serious charges of assault occasioning actual bodily harm.

Bramhall was sentenced to a 12-month community order, as well as 120 hours of unpaid work, along with the fine on Friday, the Telegraph reports.

Prosecutor Tony Badenoch QC reportedly told the court one of the victims was left feeling “violated” and suffering ongoing psychological harm.

Read more: Surgeon admits marking his initials on patients’ organs

Acknowledging it hadn’t caused either of the patients’ organs to fail, Badenoch then told the court: “This case is about his practice on two occasions, without the consent of the patient and for no clinical reason whatever, to burn his initials on to the surface of a newly-transplanted liver.”

One of the victims, referred to in court as Patient A, received a donor organ in an operation carried out by Bramhall in 2013. However, it failed a week later – for reasons unconnected to its implantation – and another surgeon noticed the initials then, the court heard.

“He knew that the action could cause no harm to the patient. He also said that in hindsight this was naive and foolhardy – a misjudged attempt to relieve the tension in theatre,” Badenoch reportedly said in court.