A breast surgeon suspended over complaints regarding operations he carried out has been charged with 21 counts of wounding with intent to cause harm.
Ian Paterson appeared at Birmingham Magistrates Court today charged with unlawfully and maliciously wounding with the intention to do grievous bodily harm, contrary to the Offences Against the Person Act 1861, the Crown Prosecution Service said.
All the offences alleged to have taken place are said to have happened between 1997 and 2011.
The counts relate to a total of 11 people in all, both men and women.
He did not enter pleas today and is due appear before at Birmingham Crown Court next month.
Paterson, who worked at the NHS-run Solihull Hospital and the private Little Aston Spire and Solihull Spire Hospitals, is also accused of carrying out unnecessary operations on hundreds of patients.
The surgeon, of Castle Mill Lane, Altrincham, in Cheshire, was suspended by the General Medical Council in 2012.
A spokesman for the Crown Prosecution Service confirmed the 58-year-old was facing 21 counts of Section 18 assault.