Surgical error highlighted at Manchester Children’s Hospital

A tragic case has been reported in the news recently, involving a surgeon incorrectly removing an infant’s bladder, in the mistaken belief that this was a hernia. The GMC found the surgeon in question, guilty of misconduct. The girl, aged just 18 months, will now require a catheter for the rest of her life.

Regrettably, cases can arise like this, where there has been a failure to adequately identify the parts of the anatomy before proceeding to operation. I am frequently faced with reports from surgeons, when investigating clinical negligence cases, who state that it is absolutely crucial to identify and protect the surrounding organs when surgery is taking place. This is perhaps most notable in laparoscopic cholecystectomy cases. In such incidents, it is usually the case that the bile duct has been damaged when trying to remove the gall bladder, resulting in open, reconstructive surgery being required thereafter. Unfortunately this surgical error, as with the above example, can have life changing consequences for the patient concerned.