Surgeon Accused of Branding Initials on Patient's Liver

When a liver-transplant patient ended up back in the operating room for an unrelated procedure, the surgeon noticed an odd thing: The letters "SB" were branded on the patient's liver. And the name of the doctor who had performed that transplant? Simon Bramhall. Sure, it might be a bizarre coincidence, but Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham has suspended Bramhall as it investigates, reports the Telegraph. Bramhall has performed hundreds of transplants, raising fears that scores of patients bear signs of his handiwork. The best guess is that he used argon gas, which would leave superficial burns but is thought to be otherwise harmless. (More surgeon stories.)