Surgeon who threatened to ‘p*** in the mouth’ of a colleague during an operation is banned – after he then unleashed with vile outbursts on social media: ‘What the f*** are you doing?’
Orthopaedic surgeon Dr Stewart Proper has had his medical registration cancelled after a tribunal found professional misconduct in his treatment of colleagues and psychiatrists. The case involved a threat made in an operating theatre and a later online campaign, which the tribunal said brought the profession into disrepute.
During a lengthy elbow revision operation in 2017, Proper threatened to urinate in a colleague’s mouth after drapes nearly fell towards a patient’s wound; he later apologised. From 2018 to 2019, he published abusive posts about three psychiatrists who had treated him, disputing the basis for his involuntary admissions. The Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal accepted the theatre outburst was isolated, but said he showed persistent lack of insight; his registration was cancelled until at least October next year.
- Surgeon loses registration over misconduct in theatre and online.
- His threat followed drapes falling towards a patient’s wound.
- Tribunal cited a prolonged campaign against three psychiatrists.
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A tribunal has cancelled the medical registration of orthopaedic surgeon Dr Stewart Proper after finding he engaged in professional misconduct. The case involved both an outburst during surgery and a series of abusive posts on social media.
In 2017, during a lengthy elbow operation, Proper made a vulgar threat to a colleague when surgical drapes nearly slipped towards the patient's wound. Although he apologised immediately and the tribunal recognised this as a one-off incident, it formed part of the broader case against him.
From 2018 to 2019, Proper published abusive posts online attacking psychiatrists who had treated him, disputing the reasons for his involuntary psychiatric admissions. The tribunal concluded that Proper failed to show genuine insight into his behaviour and that his actions brought the medical profession into disrepute, leading to the cancellation of his registration.
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The case for
The tribunal's finding that the surgeon showed persistent lack of insight is fundamental. Whilst he apologised for the isolated theatre incident, the subsequent pattern of abusive posts demonstrated he had not genuinely learned from it. In medicine, trust between colleagues in operating theatres is essential; threats there are particularly serious and undermine patient safety culture. Permanent cancellation protects patients, colleagues, and the profession when an individual shows ongoing failure to respect professional boundaries.
The case against
The theatre incident was acknowledged and apologised for, demonstrating the surgeon's capacity for remorse and some insight. The pattern of social media posts, though inappropriate, concerned his own involuntary psychiatric treatment rather than patient care; he arguably had legitimate grievances, albeit expressed unprofessionally. Rather than permanent registration cancellation, conditional registration with supervision and mandatory retraining could address the underlying issues. This approach would serve the profession better by demonstrating that accountability and genuine change are possible, rather than permanent exile.