A woman in her late 30s who was left with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) due to anaesthesia errors during breast augmentation surgery has been awarded £20,000 in damages.
Woman Diagnosed With PTSD After Being Awake During Breast Augmentation Surgery
In February 2017, the woman underwent breast surgery at a private clinic. She was given general anaesthetic by the defendant, a consultant anaesthetist, to send her to sleep before being taken into theatre. However, before the surgery itself even began, the claimant woke up.
She could feel the knife against her skin where the surgeon was making an incision and had extreme pain around her right breast. She tried to scream but was still paralysed from the muscle relaxants she was given.
In a state of distress, the claimant’s blood pressure rose which was spotted by the defendant who realised the patient must have been aware. They increased the amount of anaesthetic and the claimant went back into an unconscious state.
After surgery, when back on the recovery ward, the claimant was still distressed as she recalled the events. Panicking, she began pulling her tubes and wires before being calmed down and reassured by a member of staff. She was moved to a private room where she told a number of clinicians what she had experienced during surgery – the knife on her skin, excruciating pain, a burning sensation – all while being paralysed.
A nurse contacted the defendant who explained nothing like this had ever happened before during their 23 years as an anaesthetist. So much so, they had taken photographs of the patient’s observations on the theatre’s monitor.
The claimant was discharged that evening but suffered daily flashbacks. She couldn’t sleep or concentrate and was shortly diagnosed with PTSD for which she was prescribed anti-depressants and Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT).
The clinic investigated the failing which concluded the claimant was unable to communicate she was awake. But they failed to consider the real issue at hand – why was she awake in the first place?
Following this report, the claimant sought the help of Miriam Bi at Medical Solicitors to bring a clinical negligence claim against the anaesthetist for her psychiatric injury. A Letter of Claim was served detailing allegations of the negligence. The case settled in December 2017 for £20,000 without a Response to the Claim, meaning the claimant still doesn’t know what went wrong and did not receive an apology. However, the compensation received will enable her to seek further private therapy to further aid her slow recovery from PTSD.
