# Doctor brands his initials into patient's liver "w/ argon gas": how? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [December 25, 2013, 5:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doctor-brands-his-initials-into-patients-liver-w-argon-gas-how/677131 "2013-12-25T05:56:28Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2013, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doctor-brands-his-initials-into-patients-liver-w-argon-gas-how/677131/21 "2013-12-27T18:01:48Z")
> [@Blake](#): > > If you needed to have your testicles amputated, and you found out the surgeons used them for a golf ballx afterwards, would you be equally complacent? Hey, as long as someone’s getting some use out of them, who am I to complain? But did you read the whole article? The branding is medically necessary, and was explained to the woman that it would be done before the operation. He objection is that, somehow, “UK” is demeaning, but apparently “This End Up” would somehow have been okay. This is entirely different from the case mentioned in the OP, however. ---
**Author:** ![engineer\_comp\_geek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/engineer_comp_geek/32/504_2.png) [@engineer\_comp\_geek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/engineer_comp_geek)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2013, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doctor-brands-his-initials-into-patients-liver-w-argon-gas-how/677131/22 "2013-12-27T19:21:14Z")
**Moderator Action** While this thread started out as a factual question, it has since strayed well into opinion and debate territory. I don’t think there’s enough left to debate here to justify moving it to GD, so I’m going to move the thread over to IMHO so folks can continue to express their opinions. Moving thread from General Questions to In My Humble Opinion. ---
**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2013, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doctor-brands-his-initials-into-patients-liver-w-argon-gas-how/677131/23 "2013-12-27T20:52:20Z")
> [@Blake](#): > > If you needed to have your testicles amputated, and you found out the surgeons used them for a golf ballx afterwards, would you be equally complacent? If it were me, I’d laugh so hard I’d probably rip my sutures. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2013, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doctor-brands-his-initials-into-patients-liver-w-argon-gas-how/677131/24 "2013-12-27T21:01:57Z")
> [@Miller](#): > > But did you read the whole article? The branding is medically necessary I’m still dubious about that (see post #16). > [@UK branding story](#): > > Dr. Michael Guiler told ABC’s Good Morning, America and NBC’s Today that marking the uterus gives doctors a point of reference before it is removed. Someone is confused and/or clueless here. If you can’t tell left from right while the uterus is still in the body, you’re definitely in the wrong line of work. ---
**Author:** ![Greg\_Charles](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/839c29/32.png) [@Greg\_Charles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Greg_Charles)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2013, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doctor-brands-his-initials-into-patients-liver-w-argon-gas-how/677131/25 "2013-12-27T21:04:10Z")
It could be detrimental without the patient knowing or even suspecting it, right? I mean, if he had some complications after the surgery, it’s not like the first thing he’s going to attribute that to is, “I wonder if my surgeon carved his initials in my liver?” “The chickens have come home to roost!” – Malcolm Oak 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![aruvqan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aruvqan/32/2891_2.png) [@aruvqan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aruvqan)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2013, 10:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doctor-brands-his-initials-into-patients-liver-w-argon-gas-how/677131/26 "2013-12-28T10:43:23Z")
> [@Blake](#): > > Humans have a deep psychological attachment to their body parts, especially when it terminates their reproductive life. The idea that anybody thinks it’s a joke or a chance for some graffiti work and treats the sexual organs disrespectfully is highly distressing. Fuck, I am barely attached to my body and I am still in it. Wouldn’t bother me a bit to discover that Dr M branded my appendix last time he was rummaging around in my gut [I have a standing joke with him, I keep asking him to install a zipper to make things easier.] Play ping pong with my removed ovaries, not a problem. Brand my uterus? Psh, I couldn’t care a bit. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doctor-brands-his-initials-into-patients-liver-w-argon-gas-how/677131.md?page=1)