Former patients raise money in support of initial-branding liver surgeon Simon Bramhall

A fundraising page has been set up in support of disgraced surgeon Simon Bramhall after he was fined £10,000 for branding his initials into the livers of two of his patients.

Bramhall, 53, pleaded guilty to two counts of assault after using an argon beam coagulator - an instrument designed to seal bleeding blood vessels – to sear his initials "SB" into the organs while working at Birmingham's Queen Elizabeth Hospital in 2013.

The surgeon was condemned for showing an "arrogant disregard for the dignity and feelings" of his patients by burning his name into the livers. He was fined £10,000 at Birmingham Crown Court on 12 January.

But a JustGiving page has been set up aiming to raise the £10,000 in aid of the British Liver Trust – which condemned his actions as "inexcusable" – as so many people are "indebted" to Bramhall.

On the page, one of his former patients says: "Almost 11 years after a prognosis of only three months, I marvel at the professionalism, the excellence and the brilliance of a man without whose dedicated work and experience, I would not be here. I often wonder how many others are saying exactly the same as me."

The page adds: "We are aiming to match Simon's fine of £10,000 and donate this to his chosen charity: the British Liver Trust. This in no way conflicts with the fine that Simon pays himself.

"We are doing this because we wish to show Simon how much he is appreciated and how we feel about him. 270 of us wrote testimonies for Simon's case and the judge read all of them.

"Simon has already saved us; we wish for him to continue in his career because he is a man of excellence and his talents should not be wasted."

At the time of publication, 20 people had raised £690 for Bramhall.

Following his guilty plea, West Midlands Police Detective Constable Paul Read said: "This was a totally unnecessary action by a renowned surgeon who had conducted over 350 liver transplants since becoming a consultant on the liver unit in 2002.

"He cannot offer any explanation for his actions. The court heard that his actions were an arrogant disregard for the dignity and feelings of the unconscious patient... and that it was an abuse of position and patient trust to use the coagulator in the way he did."

Bramhall resigned from the Birmingham hospital in 2014.