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| Liver surgeon Simon Bramhall marked initials on patients | |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| A surgeon who marked his initials on the livers of two transplant patients has admitted assault by beating. | A surgeon who marked his initials on the livers of two transplant patients has admitted assault by beating. |
| Simon Bramhall, 53, committed the offences at Birmingham's Queen Elizabeth Hospital in February and August 2013. | Simon Bramhall, 53, committed the offences at Birmingham's Queen Elizabeth Hospital in February and August 2013. |
| The liver, spleen and pancreas surgeon was suspended later that year. | |
| He pleaded guilty to two charges at Birmingham Crown Court and will be sentenced at the same court on 12 January. | He pleaded guilty to two charges at Birmingham Crown Court and will be sentenced at the same court on 12 January. |
| He denied the more serious charge of assault occasioning actual bodily harm - a plea which was accepted by prosecutors. | |
| Tony Badenoch QC said the case was "without legal precedent in criminal law". | |
| Bramhall, who came to attention in 2010 when he transplanted a liver saved from a burning aircraft into a patient, was suspended when the branding was discovered by another surgeon. | |
| Liver surgeons use an argon beam to stop livers bleeding, but can also use it to burn the surface of the liver to sketch out the area of an operation. | Liver surgeons use an argon beam to stop livers bleeding, but can also use it to burn the surface of the liver to sketch out the area of an operation. |
| It is not believed to have been harmful to the liver and the marks normally disappear. | It is not believed to have been harmful to the liver and the marks normally disappear. |
| In one case it appears the organ was already damaged and as a result did not heal itself in the normal manner, allowing the marks to be seen. | |
| Bramhall resigned after a disciplinary hearing with University Hospitals Birmingham Foundation Trust in May 2014. | |
| Speaking to the BBC after his suspension he admitted he had made "a mistake". |