Dr Ian Paterson denies 20 counts of wounding with intent against nine women and one man at Nottingham Crown Court.
He said he had never told alleged victims they had "a ticking bomb" of cancer inside them.
He said the phrase appears in three witness statements which was "clear evidence" statements have been coached.
"It's a scary thing, why would I intentionally scare a patient, that you've got a time bomb?" he said.
More updates on this and other stories in Birmingham and the Black Country
The 59-year-old also said one patient, John Ingram, who had a double mastectomy after tests showed only potentially abnormal cells, was a "quivering mass of anxiety", convinced he would get cancer.
Nothing he told him would have changed his mind, Mr Paterson said.
Mr Ingram gave evidence saying Mr Paterson, who worked at hospitals run by the Heart of England NHS Trust and Spire Healthcare, told him in 2006 he was "on the road to developing breast cancer".
But Mr Paterson, of Ashley, Altrincham, Greater Manchester, said on Wednesday that Mr Ingram's memory had become "confused" over time.
He described his patient as a "troubled gentleman with multiple phobias - one of them breast cancer, because his mother had died of breast cancer, aged 42".
"So the minute he had an abnormality in his chest wall, in his head he was on the way to getting breast cancer," he said.
"Very little I told him thereafter would disavow him of that view."
Prosecutor Julian Christopher QC asked whether it was "quite wrong" to say he would "travel in time towards cancer".
Mr Paterson said: "I doubt I said that, simply because nobody has a crystal ball."
The trial continues.

The Green Lions, hosting the first ever cup match on the island, forced the preliminary qualifying round tie to a replay with a 2-2 draw on Saturday.
Guernsey, who often struggle for player availability, now travel to London.
"Okay we got something out of the game, but more so it is a game we could have done without from a financial and logistical point of view," Vance said.
Guernsey, who play in English football's eighth tier, battled back from two goals down in front of a crowd of 1,142.
Dave Rihoy scored both goals for the hosts after the break, helping makeup for what Vance said was an "awful and lifeless" first-half performance.
"It wasn't good enough, we didn't have the right energy or movement. We were reactive and not proactive and put ourselves in a situation where we had to try do something.
"As much as I'm frustrated with the players for first half, I'll give them loads of credit for the second half. I'm proud."
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Investigations using ground-penetrating radar equipment have begun on land around St James Church next to the remaining ruins of Reading Abbey.
The Hidden Abbey Project hopes to uncover the high altar where the king and Queen Adeliza are buried.
The survey is the first comprehensive archaeological investigation at Reading Abbey for more than 150 years.
Further survey are due to be carried out on the abbey church, Forbury Gardens and Reading Gaol car park.
John Mullaney of the Hidden Abbey Project said: "What we shall discover we do not know - maybe much, maybe little.
"I hope all our work will tell us more about one of England's greatest buildings and about the King who was buried in Reading."
The investigations are being carried out alongside conservation work on the 900-year-old abbey which closed to the public in the summer of 2009 after a survey showed its walls were in too poor condition.
After a successful bid for Â£1.77m of lottery funding they are due re-open to the public in 2018.
Henry I, son of William the Conqueror, founded Reading Abbey in 1121.
After his death in Normandy in December 1135, his body was brought to Reading sewn into a bull's hide. He was laid to rest in January 1136.
The abbey was partly destroyed during the dissolution of the monasteries by Henry VIII but there is no definite record of what happened to Henry I's remains.
A breast surgeon accused of carrying out unnecessary operations has told a court that witness statements against him have been "coached".
[NEXT_CONCEPT]
Guernsey boss Tony Vance admits their FA Cup replay against Thamesmead Town on Tuesday will be a costly burden.
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Survey work to find the tomb of King Henry I, who is believed to be buried at Reading Abbey, has started.