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You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.theguardian.com/society/2017/dec/18/surgery-that-made-its-mark-on-patients-lives-as-well-as-livers
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| Surgery that made its mark on patients’ lives as well as livers | Surgery that made its mark on patients’ lives as well as livers |
| (about 9 hours later) | |
| Letters | |
| Mon 18 Dec 2017 18.44 GMT | |
| Last modified on Wed 20 Dec 2017 17.13 GMT | |
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| I was operated on by Simon Bramhall and team at the liver unit of the Queen Elizabeth hospital, Birmingham, in 2006 (Surgeon admits leaving his initials on livers of patients, 14 December). Following colorectal surgery the previous year the cancer had spread – which entailed a resection of 75% of my liver. Following the operation, I was informed by one of his colleagues that on the balance of probability I had about five years to live. | I was operated on by Simon Bramhall and team at the liver unit of the Queen Elizabeth hospital, Birmingham, in 2006 (Surgeon admits leaving his initials on livers of patients, 14 December). Following colorectal surgery the previous year the cancer had spread – which entailed a resection of 75% of my liver. Following the operation, I was informed by one of his colleagues that on the balance of probability I had about five years to live. |
| I had regular post-operative checks with Bramhall for four years. My treatment was professional, patient-focused and friendly. He always had a welcoming smile. I am horrified to read phrases like “assault by beating” applied to a thoroughly decent professional. | I had regular post-operative checks with Bramhall for four years. My treatment was professional, patient-focused and friendly. He always had a welcoming smile. I am horrified to read phrases like “assault by beating” applied to a thoroughly decent professional. |
| Thanks to Bramhall I am still alive and very active long after my projected demise. It does not bug me one bit whether or not I have his initials on my liver.Emeritus Professor Jim S SandhuUniversity of Northumbria | Thanks to Bramhall I am still alive and very active long after my projected demise. It does not bug me one bit whether or not I have his initials on my liver.Emeritus Professor Jim S SandhuUniversity of Northumbria |
| • Henry Marsh wonders why the surgeon who discovered that Simon Bramhall had marked his name on a patient’s liver felt obliged to report this to hospital authorities (Surgeons walk a tightrope. Some fall off, 16 December). I would be far more concerned if a surgeon found something like this and did not report it, therefore colluding in what Marsh acknowledges in his article is a wrongful action. (Marsh says that signing of the skulls of any of his own patients would have been “wholly inappropriate”.) | • Henry Marsh wonders why the surgeon who discovered that Simon Bramhall had marked his name on a patient’s liver felt obliged to report this to hospital authorities (Surgeons walk a tightrope. Some fall off, 16 December). I would be far more concerned if a surgeon found something like this and did not report it, therefore colluding in what Marsh acknowledges in his article is a wrongful action. (Marsh says that signing of the skulls of any of his own patients would have been “wholly inappropriate”.) |
| Also, the seriousness of this action from a criminal point of view should be reflected in the outcome of Bramhall’s trial, which will provide a legal precedent for what I believe is a unique case. The court is the right place for an alleged offence of assault to be tested and it should not be left for the person who discovered it to be judge and jury.Alexis LivadeasKidlington, Oxfordshire | Also, the seriousness of this action from a criminal point of view should be reflected in the outcome of Bramhall’s trial, which will provide a legal precedent for what I believe is a unique case. The court is the right place for an alleged offence of assault to be tested and it should not be left for the person who discovered it to be judge and jury.Alexis LivadeasKidlington, Oxfordshire |
| • Henry Marsh says that as patients we must trust our doctors and that it is not always easy. It is made much harder when they, including Marsh, see nothing criminal in a surgeon who behaves like a spoilt teenager and engraves his initials in his patients’ liver. He says it causes no physical harm, but it is indicative of the arrogance and contempt in which some members of the profession hold their patients.Nick CrookBatheaston, Somerset | • Henry Marsh says that as patients we must trust our doctors and that it is not always easy. It is made much harder when they, including Marsh, see nothing criminal in a surgeon who behaves like a spoilt teenager and engraves his initials in his patients’ liver. He says it causes no physical harm, but it is indicative of the arrogance and contempt in which some members of the profession hold their patients.Nick CrookBatheaston, Somerset |
| • Join the debate – email guardian.letters@theguardian.com | • Join the debate – email guardian.letters@theguardian.com |
| • Read more Guardian letters – click here to visit gu.com/letters | • Read more Guardian letters – click here to visit gu.com/letters |
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