Queensland surgeon fined for sharing photo of patient’s swastika-tattooed penis

A surgeon has been reprimanded and fined after sharing a photo of a comatose patient’s penis, which was tattooed with a swastika.

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An orthopaedic surgeon was fined $10,000 for sharing a photo of a comatose patient’s swastika tattoo .

The photo was shared on WhatsApp without any clinical purpose, leading to a tribunal investigation.

Tribunal member Peter Murphy SC stated the surgeon’s conduct was serious, highlighting the patient’s vulnerability.

An orthopaedic surgeon has been reprimanded and fined $10,000 after sharing a photo of a comatose patient’s penis, which was tattooed with a swastika, on WhatsApp.

The surgeon, whose name has been suppressed, was treating the man in a regional Queensland hospital in April 2019 after a home-made pipe-bomb exploded in his hands.

The man was placed in intensive care where he was intubated and placed in a coma for a week, during which he was treated by the doctor who was employed by the hospital.

While undergoing treatment, the surgeon “noticed the swastika tattoo and photographed it”, a finding by the Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal states.