Retained suture award.

The CNCI team have assisted in the recovery of compensation for a man who experienced debilitating and unpleasant symptoms after surgery. Having undergone a coronary artery bypass graft surgery our client – a former lorry driver – suffered with a weeping wound for 9 months. The cause of the weeping  was eventually found when a surgeon at York District Hospital discovered a 2 inch metal suture that had not been removed after the surgery.

During the course of the claim it emerged that a district nurse who was supposed to remove the sutures after the surgery negligently left one remaining. Despite numerous visits to his GP our client was assured that all was well. His GP eventually referred him to York hospital where the missed suture was found during exploratory surgery.

Expert medical evidence found that, had the suture been removed sooner, our client would have experienced significantly less pain and discomfort.

Helen Caulfield, who represented the claimant, stated “Following the removal of the suture my client thankfully went on to make a full recovery, but it is unacceptable that a problem such as this was missed by so many health professionals on so many different occasions”.