A UK court convicted British surgeon Ian Paterson on charges of "wounding with intent." Following years of complaints, Paterson was found guilty in the criminal court for 17 cases of intentional wounding and three cases of illegally wounding his patients.
However, the number of patients who perished or suffered greatly under Paterson's knife due to unnecessary surgeries may be higher than the official record. Paterson, however, denied all the allegations made against him. The court will announce its decision next week and it is expected that the doctor will be given life imprisonment for his crimes.
Doctor Convicted For Performing Unnecessary Surgeries
The seven-week long trial was held at Nottingham Crown Court and one man and nine women, all former patients of Paterson, testified against him. The prosecution in its argument stated that all the surgeries that the victims underwent were unnecessary, as none of them were detected with breast cancer.
One of the witnesses was a woman who had undergone 12 surgeries in a span of 16 years. The prosecution maintained that in other situations, a biopsy would have been more suitable instead of an invasive surgery.
The West Midlands police handpicked the doctor's former patients and noted that Paterson treated them privately. The criminal investigation against the rogue surgeon started in 2012, following his removal from the General Medical Council and his suspension from the hospital.
"The procedures carried out by Ian Paterson on vulnerable patients were unnecessary and caused physical suffering, scars, and wounds to the patients," Mark Payne, a senior officer from the, Department Chief Superintendent told the Birmingham Mail.
Payne also stated that due to greed and arrogance of Paterson, many of his patients suffered psychological trauma. The surgeon made his patients believe that they had breast cancer because of which the extensive and innumerable surgeries were necessary. However in reality, none of the patients had breast cancer or were even at risk.
Payne is of the view that Paterson played God with his patient's lives and abused his position, knowledge, and skill by breaking the trust his patients reposed in him. He resorted to these unethical tactics to maintain his luxurious lifestyle.
However, the prosecution was unclear about the former doctor's motives, but included financial gain as one of the reasons.
More Patients Abused By Paterson?
It is believed that there are more patients who suffered due to Paterson's negligence. Paterson's self-developed technique "cleavage-sparing mastectomy" has also been questioned.
Nearly 256 patients on whom Paterson operated have been given compensation for physical and mental trauma. The compensation amount totals to roughly $23.32 million. The Heart of England Foundation Trust of the National Health Service, which insured the hospitals Paterson worked with, paid for the legal costs and damages.
Currently, 350 more patients are seeking compensation from Paterson for the unnecessary surgeries. These patients were treated privately under Spire Healthcare.
