Surgeon Suspended After Injuring Patient During Surgery and Admitting to Drinking on Duty

A British surgeon has been suspended from practicing medicine for 12 months after a disciplinary hearing uncovered troubling incidents involving a patient injured during surgery, abandoned operations and an admission that he drank alcohol while working at a London hospital.

Dr. Aleksandras Uzkalnis, a consultant general surgeon at University Hospital Lewisham, was disciplined after a medical tribunal examined his conduct during two surgical procedures in February 2024.

The hearing revealed that Uzkalnis injured a patient’s small intestine during an operation, left a junior doctor to finish the procedure and later admitted adding brandy to his coffee while still on duty.

Several colleagues also reported smelling alcohol on his breath during surgery, although the tribunal did not establish that he had consumed alcohol before operating.

The Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service concluded its hearing on October 15, 2026, determining that Uzkalnis’ fitness to practice was impaired and imposing a one-year suspension.

The case centered on events at University Hospital Lewisham, a major public hospital in southeast London, where Uzkalnis was responsible for supervising less-experienced surgeons.

According to evidence presented during the hearing, problems began when Uzkalnis was overseeing a junior colleague performing a laparoscopic cholecystectomy, a minimally invasive operation to remove a patient’s gallbladder.

The procedure became difficult, and the supervising surgeon decided it should be abandoned.

However, the tribunal found that Uzkalnis had not taken appropriate steps to assist the junior doctor before making that decision.

Only an initial camera port had been inserted when the procedure was stopped.

The panel concluded that Uzkalnis should have scrubbed in and personally taken over if he believed the operation was too challenging for the doctor he was supervising.

Later that same day, a second operation raised even more serious concerns.

Uzkalnis was overseeing surgery on a patient who was believed to have a Spigelian hernia, a relatively uncommon condition involving a weakness in the abdominal wall.

During the procedure, another doctor reportedly realized that the patient did not have the suspected hernia.

Despite that discovery, Uzkalnis continued operating.

According to testimony presented at the hearing, he opened the lining of the abdominal cavity and injured the patient’s small intestine.

The tribunal heard that the complication required careful surgical management, particularly because Uzkalnis was the senior surgeon and had personally caused the injury.

Instead, he allegedly handed the operation back to the junior doctor.

“This is your operation,” he reportedly told the colleague before leaving the operating room.

Uzkalnis acknowledged leaving the procedure in another doctor’s hands and returning to his office.

It was there, he admitted, that he made himself a cup of coffee containing brandy.

The admission became a major focus of the disciplinary proceedings.

Other medical professionals testified that they had noticed an odor of alcohol around Uzkalnis during the day’s surgical procedures.

However, the tribunal emphasized an important distinction: Although Uzkalnis admitted consuming alcohol while on duty, investigators had not established that he drank before the operations or that alcohol impairment caused the patient’s injuries.

The panel noted that the odor reported by colleagues might have been explained by earlier alcohol consumption.

Nevertheless, drinking alcohol while responsible for patient care raised serious professional concerns.

The tribunal also criticized Uzkalnis’ response after the patient was injured.

According to the evidence, he did not adequately explain the complication to the patient or their family and failed to apologize for what had happened.

One medical witness described that failure as falling seriously below the professional standards expected of a senior surgeon.

In the United Kingdom, physicians are expected to be open with patients when treatment causes harm, including explaining what happened and offering an appropriate apology.

The requirement is known as the professional duty of candor, a principle intended to promote transparency and maintain trust between patients and healthcare providers.

The disciplinary hearing also examined Uzkalnis’ previous history involving alcohol.

In September 2023, the General Medical Council, Britain’s medical licensing authority, issued him a formal warning following a conviction for driving under the influence.

That warning preceded the incidents at University Hospital Lewisham by approximately five months.

Taken together, the allegations raised concerns about his judgment, professional conduct and ability to safely supervise surgical procedures.

The Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service ultimately determined that a 12-month suspension was necessary.

The decision prevents Uzkalnis from practicing medicine in the United Kingdom during the suspension period, subject to the applicable regulatory rules.

A suspension is different from permanently removing a doctor from the medical register, a more severe sanction that can end a physician’s ability to practice unless they are later reinstated.

The tribunal’s decision does not automatically establish criminal liability, and no criminal charges were reported in connection with the surgical incidents.

The case highlights the critical responsibilities placed on experienced surgeons who supervise junior doctors during complex operations.

Senior physicians are expected to intervene when necessary, manage unexpected complications and ensure that patients receive appropriate care throughout a procedure.

For the patient injured during the hernia operation, the hearing established that the surgical complication was followed by serious concerns about the supervising doctor’s conduct and communication.

The tribunal’s full written determination has not yet been published, so further details about the panel’s reasoning and any conditions attached to Uzkalnis’ eventual return to practice may become available later.

For now, the British medical regulator has suspended him for one year following findings of professional misconduct involving surgical care and alcohol consumption while on duty.