Breast cancer scandal: hundreds of women who had surgery will be recalled in case operations were botched

More than 700 patients who were treated by consultant surgeon Ian Paterson are being urgently referred to specialists for new examinations in case their health has been put at risk.

Several are already facing further surgery to reduce the risk that the disease will return.

They include Claire Mullane, 53, left "shattered" when she realised that she would have to undergo another operation, two years after a mastectomy had been completed.

And another woman has already received a substantial out of court settlement because her cancer returned after Mr Paterson undertook the procedure.

Mr Paterson was banned by the General Medical Council from carrying out breast surgery in July, after it was found he was performing experimental "cleavage sparing" procedures, which left a small amount of tissue for cosmetic reasons.

This breached national guidelines which say that leaving tissue after a mastectomy increases the likelihood of cancer recurring.

Now every woman given a mastectomy under his care at Solihull Hospital, in the West Midlands since 1998, as well as 150 women who were treated by the consultant at two private clinics, are being written to and told they must by reassessed urgently by a specialist.

At least 120 of the women have yet to be told that they will be referred to an independent surgeon - and still more cases may be identified by a review which is under way.

The number of women being contacted makes it one of the biggest such cases to hit the NHS and was described as "deeply concerning" by a medical negligence lawyer.

The biggest NHS scandal in botched surgery involved Rodney Ledward, who dubbed himself "the fastest gynaecologist in the South East".

He was found by an independent inquiry in 2000 to have bungled more than 400 operations, leaving women mutilated.

Mr Paterson worked for the NHS hospital as a breast cancer surgeon from 1998 until he was excluded earlier this year, and at two private clinics, Little Aston, in Sutton Coldfield, and Parkway Hospital in Solihull, from 2000 until August, after the GMC took action against him, following an investigation.

He had already been told in 2007 by Heart of England NHS Foundation Trust, which runs Solihull hospital, to stop using the method - but it was not until this summer that regulators barred him from performing any breast surgery.

Now the trust has begun a review of all 573 women who had mastectomies under his care between 1998 and 2011.

The trust said that so far, more than 500 women have been contacted and advised to have their treatment reassessed, to see if further surgery is required.

The hospital said it did not yet have enough information to say how many women were facing further surgery, or how many had developed cancer, or could even have died from it since being treated by the surgeon.

Several of the consultant's patients have already undergone further operations, with one being told that without more surgery, the chance of the cancer returning was 40 to 50 per cent higher than it would normally be.

The 2007 review of breast surgery at Solihull hospital found that the surgeon had introduced the experimental practice without following guidance which governs the introduction of new techniques, to ensure careful monitoring. After establishing that the approach was "not considered appropriate" the method was stopped.

The NHS trust said it then began identifying patients who may have undergone the procedure - but four years later, 70 patients have still to be contacted. The hospital is still checking files to detect any more cases and expects all women to be seen at clinics by next March.

Private operator Spire Healthcare has so far approached 100 of approximately 150 women who underwent breast surgery at their two Birmingham clinics in the past decade.

The company said the surgeon claimed that he had stopped doing the "cleavage sparing" procedure in its clinics from 2007, following the review by the NHS.

But patients are concerned that he was using the method as recently as 2009.

Claire Mullane, 53, from Solihull, was treated for breast cancer at Parkway Spire clinic. She paid more than £8,000 so that she could undergo a mastectomy quickly, once breast cancer had been found.

Mrs Mullane said there was little discussion about the details of the operation, in January 2009, but that when she came round, Mr Paterson told her that he had "left some cleavage" to assist with any future reconstruction of the breast.

It was not until almost two years later, when her husband read a local newspaper article about an NHS investigation into the surgeon, that she learned that there was anything unusual about what he had done.

The council worker said: "I had no idea that the operation he had done was not the normal procedure. He had described it afterwards as though it was completely routine."

Mrs Mullane says she contacted the clinic, and was told by a breast care nurse that there was no reason to be concerned, and suggested putting her in touch with a group for breast cancer sufferers.

Instead, the mother-of-three contacted her GP, who referred her to the NHS. It now plans further surgery to remove the tissue left by Mr Paterson.

She said: "When I was diagnosed with breast cancer I felt very vulnerable and in that situation you build up trust in your doctor. It was shattering - not only did the clinic never contact me about the concerns, but when I contacted them, they fobbed me off."

Mrs Mullane decided to speak about her surgery and treatment said she did not like talking about what had happened to her, but was speaking publicly to encourage women who had mastectomies by the surgeon to come forward.

Spire Healthcare said it would contact Mrs Mullane and was concerned she felt did not receive the standard of care the company aimed to deliver.

She is one of 13 legal cases taken up by medical negligence experts Irwin Mitchell, one of eight legal firms in Birmingham which are between them already considering approximately 50 cases.

Victoria Blankstone, a medical negligence solicitor with the legal firm, said: "I'm absolutely staggered by the numbers of patients involved in this; it is really worrying for these women, and it is deeply concerning that the hospitals have been so slow to act."

Earlier this year, another patient of Mr Paterson received a substantial out of court settlement following the return of her cancer, five years after the operation, in 2003.

The return of her cancer was only detected five years later when a nurse carrying out a mammogram was concerned about the amount of tissue left on the removed breast.

The woman, 62, had previously questioned the surgeon about the operation, after another cancer specialist said not enough tissue had been taken, but Mr Paterson dismissed her concerns.

An independent report into the woman's care concluded that she was "almost guaranteed a recurrence of cancer" with the treatment she received.

Mr Paterson refused to discuss the case as he left his £1.5 million grade II listed Georgian home, in Edgbaston, yesterday morning, with his wife.

She said: "I'm afraid we can't stop. Were on a tight schedule today."

The Medical Defence Union, which is representing the surgeon, said it could not comment because of patient confidentiality.

* NHS patients who are concerned should contact the hospital via an advice line 0121 424 5473. Spire Healthcare said patients treated at Little Aston or Parkway Hospitals should contact them directly.

 This article is courtesy of The Telegraph.