Mrs V underwent a hernia repair in 2012. The following day, she started vomiting. Mrs V was prescribed antibiotics and several blood tests were carried out which did not indicate the presence of infection or sepsis. She was therefore discharged six days following the hernia operation.
Over the next ten days, Mrs V remained at home. She continued to vomit and struggled to keep any fluids or food down becoming extremely weak as a result.
Mrs V was readmitted to hospital shortly after being discharged as her condition had severely deteriorated. She underwent a chest and abdominal X-ray and CT scan which showed significant inflammation and infection in her abdominal wall.
Mrs V was taken to surgery to clear the infection. During surgery, a perforation of the small bowel into the abdominal wall was discovered and so a bowel resection and primary anastomosis were completed.
Mrs V remained unwell following the operation so she was taken back to theatre a few days later for debridement of the infected tissue. During this procedure, it became evident that the area was still severely infected and she was transferred to Intensive Care for further treatment. Further surgery was subsequently performed to repair the perforation.
It thereafter came to light that during the original operation, a diathermy injury was caused to the small bowel – although no mention was made of it in the operation note. During the time of Mrs V’s second admission, an addendum was made to the original note to confirm the details of the injury and repair during the original operation.
Following negotiations, a five-figure offer was made by the Defendant NHS Trust which Mrs V accepted.
Mrs V was represented by Matthew Olner. If you would like more information or advice on pursuing a claim for compensation, please contact a member of our Medical Negligence team on 0800 024 1976.