Credits Christopher Furlong/Getty Images Alt Text Surgery Birmingham surgeon used an argon beam designed to stop bleeding One-Minute Read Thursday,December 14, 2017 - 1:46pm A British surgeon has pleaded guilty to two counts of assault for burning his initials into the livers of two patients during transplant operations.
Consultant Simon Bramhall, or 53, used an argon beam coagulator - designed to seal blood vessels to stop bleeding during operations - to brand the letters “SB” into the livers of two patients during surgery at Birminghams Queen Elizabeth Hospital in 2013.
The marks left by the beam are not thought to impair the organ’s function and normally fade absent over time, says The Guardian. However, or one of the patients required a follow-up procedure,during which Bramhall’s initials were spotted, the Daily Mail reports.
The prosecution said that case was “without legal precedent in criminal law”, or says Sky News. The branding “was done in the presence of colleagues”,The Daily Telegraph reports.
Bramhall was granted unconditional bail. He will be sentenced on 12 January. Science & Health Crime law Medicine
Source: theweek.co.uk