Surgeon 'had 95% chance of dying' after stabbing

A plastic surgeon who was stabbed at his home had a "95% chance of dying" when he arrived in hospital, a jury has heard.

Graeme Perks was found injured at his house in Halam, near Southwell in Nottinghamshire, in the early hours of 14 January 2021.

A trial in Loughborough heard Mr Perks had "no recollection" of some of the circumstances before and after the attack.

Jonathan Peter Brooks, a former colleague of the now-retired Mr Perks, is on trial having denied attempted murder.

Warning - this article contains distressing content

The court had previously been shown a recorded police interview Mr Perks underwent weeks after the attack, following his release from hospital.

During that interview, he said he had initially mistaken a figure in dark clothing in his garden for his son, after which he felt a blow to his abdomen.

Under cross-examination by Stephen Leslie KC, he said he had "no recollection" about much of what happened before he saw the figure, but could recall feeling the injury after he was stabbed.

"My recollection is that all I felt was guts sticking out," he said.

"Sadly I'm experienced enough to recognise that it was intestine."

When questioned by Mr Leslie on his police interview, Mr Perks reiterated he could not remember speaking to his son Henry, who called 999, or much of what happened before he was taken to hospital.

"It [the transcript of the interview] reads to me as if I'm totally discombobulated [after the stabbing]," he said.

The court also heard from the consultant surgeon who treated Mr Perks after he arrived at the Queen's Medical Centre in Nottingham.

Adam Brooks - who is of no relation to the defendant - said he was in charge of "the busiest major trauma centre in the UK", and had carried out more than 1,000 procedures on people with knife injuries over more than 20 years.

He said Mr Perks's injuries were "of the most serious type", and included a bleeding liver, injuries to the pancreas and bowel, and an "extremely life-threatening injury" to the back of the abdomen.

When asked to assess his chances of survival, Mr Brooks said Mr Perks "had a 95% chance of dying when he came to us".

"I recall that at times his condition wasn't very good," he said.

"There were moments there where I thought we were going to lose him."

The court heard Mr Perks lost an estimated six litres of blood.

Prosecutors say Dr Brooks doused the ground floor of Mr Perks's property in petrol before attacking his former colleague, who the court heard he "hated" because he was giving evidence in a work disciplinary hearing against the defendant.

The 61-year-old, who is representing himself but was not present in court, has denied two counts of attempted murder, one of attempted arson with intent to endanger life and one count of possession of a bladed article.

The trial continues.

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