Ian Paterson, 66, is serving a 20-year prison term for wounding patients by carrying out unnecessary procedures.
The first of 62 inquests into the deaths of former patients of disgraced breast surgeon Ian Paterson is due to start hearing evidence on Monday.
The hearing, part of one of the largest ever inquests held in the UK, is getting underway at Birmingham and Solihull Coroner's Court.
Paterson, 66, was convicted in 2017 of 20 counts of wounding 10 patients during surgical procedures between 1997 and 2011.
A total of 62 inquests have so far been opened on patients of Paterson, who has refused to take part in the inquest process.
The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) confirmed last week that his planned move to an open prison - which caused outrage among his victims and their families - has been cancelled after a risk assessment.
Originally from Glasgow in Scotland, Paterson grew up in Co Down in Northern Ireland, and worked at the Spire Parkway Hospital and Spire Little Aston Hospital in Birmingham and NHS hospitals run by the Heart of England NHS Foundation Trust.
Paterson, a breast surgeon, performed "extensive, life-changing operations for no medically justifiable reason" on his victims and made them wrongfully believe they had cancer.
Paterson would carry out "cleavage-sparing mastectomies" on his victims, a controversial practice that left breast tissue behind after the removal of cancerous cells, putting them at greater risk of cancer returning.
Concerns were first raised about Paterson in 2003 but not followed up, before he was told in 2007 to stop performing cleavage-sparing mastectomies.
GPs and patients then made complaints about his methods, and in 2011 he was suspended by the NHS, but continued to perform breast surgery and general surgery for weeks afterwards.
In 2017, Paterson, who was living in Altrincham, Greater Manchester, was convicted at Nottingham Crown Court of 20 counts of wounding which were committed during surgical procedures on 10 private sector patients between 1997 and 2011.
However, it is thought the number of victims may be more than 1,000, with the NHS already paying out a total of £37m in compensation to about 750 people in the months after his conviction.
Paterson was initially jailed for 15 years, but the Court of Appeal later increased his sentence to 20 years a few months later, following an application by then solicitor general Robert Buckland, who argued the original sentence was unduly lenient.
An independent inquiry, chaired by the former Bishop of Norwich, the Right Rev Graham James, ruled in February 2020 that Paterson had carried out hundreds of unnecessary operations on scores of patients, exaggerating or inventing cancer risks.
More than 560 patient deaths have been considered so far by a multi-disciplinary team of medical experts, leading to the opening of 62 inquests. Another 20 inquests are set to open later. The inquests are expected to run for two years.
Paterson has refused to take part in the inquest process, claiming he cannot attend because of health reasons, lack of legal representation and a lack of facilities to prepare.
Earlier this month, the Sunday Times reported that health secretary Wes Streeting is to strip Paterson of his £1m pension.
He has decided to remove Paterson's taxpayer-funded pension under rules that allow NHS benefits to be forfeited in the case of criminal, negligent or fraudulent acts, the newspaper said.
Shirley Moroney's sister Marie Pinfeld, 49, died from cancer in 2008 after being operated on twice by Paterson.
Speaking ahead of the inquests, Moroney, 61, said Paterson should face more criminal charges.
Ahead of the inquests, she told the Daily Record: "He is going to be out in 2027 and I want him to serve more time.
"The worst thing about it, is this is still just the tip of the iceberg, there are still so many people that were harmed by him and they will never have their day in court. If we can get him more time in prison I will be a very happy woman and that's my main aim in all this. He stole my sister."
Debbie Douglas, who was given an unnecessary mastectomy by Paterson, told The Guardian ahead of the inquests: "What we hope from this is that those that have died get their voices heard, and that the families and victims that Paterson harmed get answers.
"We just don't want this to happen to anyone else, and we want patient safety at the forefront."