An orthopedic surgeon in Paris tried to get in on the NFT craze by attempting to sell an X-ray image of patient's arm with a lodged bullet in it — without her permission.
Since the patient was a survivor of the 2015 Bataclan theater terrorist attack, where her boyfriend was killed, Dr. Emmanuel Masmejean thought he could fetch its listing price of $2,776 (2,446 euros). But his side hustle ended abruptly when investigative website Mediapart reported on it.
Now he acknowledges it was "an error."
From NDTV:
The head of Paris's public hospitals, Martin Hirsch, wrote on Twitter on Saturday confirming that a criminal and professional complaint would be lodged against the surgeon for his "disgraceful" and "scandalous" decision.
"This act is contrary to sound professional practice, puts medical secrecy in danger, and goes against the values of AP-HP (Paris hospitals) and public service," Hirsch wrote in a message sent to staff, which he shared on Twitter.
Asked for comment by Mediapart, Masmejean acknowledged that the sale was "an error" and said he regretted not having sought permission from the patient. …
According to Masmejean's description on OpenSea, the patient "had an open fracture of the left forearm with a remaining bullet of Kalachnikov in soft tissues."
The experienced surgeon, who is a professor of surgery and a specialist in treating arm injuries, wrote that he had personally operated on five female victims at the Bataclan.
He told Mediapart that he had withdrawn the sale, but the image was still visible on Sunday.
