Man dies after negligent surgery to remove his right lung
Victor suffered from cancer and so was admitted to hospital to have his right lung removed.
Lung removal usually involves surgeons using a staple gun to close veins and arteries. The surgeon’s choice of staple gun was not available due to a lack of relevant supplies.
A different staple gun was used but there were no re-load cartridges available so the surgeon had to stop using it. This meant the surgeon had to use stitches to close one of Victor’s major arteries. The surgeon had not used this technique regularly for around 20 years.
Initially it seemed that Victor was doing well but the morning after the operation he became unresponsive and medical teams were unable to revive him. At a post mortem it was revealed that Victor’s death was caused by one of the stitches loosening, causing him to bleed to death.
The coroner was told that had the correct equipment been available, it was highly likely that Victor’s death could have been avoided. The surgeon admitted that the hospital had been running down stocks of supplies in advance of the department moving to a new location and further evidence found that the spare cartridges for the staple gun had not been ordered for more than six weeks. The lack of adequate equipment was found to have directly caused Victor’s death.
Victor’s widow made a successful compensation claim against the hospital trust and hoped to gain an admission that mistakes were made in her husband’s care. She said: “Both my daughter and I are distraught that this happened and that the hospital is willing to adopt a policy which places the lives of its patients in danger. Despite the outcome of the inquest and the settlement of the legal claim we are still yet to receive an apology from the trust for their part in my husband’s death.”