'Butcher' surgeon free to practise
Updated on 01 December 2008
A surgeon accused of botching breast operations on six women can continue to practise, a General Medical Council panel ruled.
Consultant Brian Gwynn was found guilty of serious professional misconduct in his treatment of three of the patients but the medical watchdog said he had since "remedied the deficiencies".
One of the complainants alleged she had been "butchered" by Mr Gwynn who performed breast reconstructive surgery on her at Staffordshire General Hospital in January 2001. She was left with a hole in her stomach following the operation.
In a letter to the panel, she wrote: "I have been left with horrible scarring which has had a huge psychological effect. I feel I have been butchered and the outcome should have been better."
The woman wrote the letter in 2003 before she died from an unrelated cancer. The Fitness to Practise panel, sitting in Manchester, concluded Mr Gwynn had "insufficient skill, knowledge and experience" to perform the operation. He also did not ensure adequate post-operative monitoring.
A second patient of the surgeon was left with misshapen breasts and wounds following surgery at a private hospital. The panel said Mr Gwynn's failure to treat an haematoma during and after the operation was "unacceptable". A third woman had complications following surgery by Mr Gwynn on her nipple.
She had previously undergone radiotherapy and chemotherapy to remove cancerous tissue from her left breast. Mr Gwynn should have informed her about the high risk of complications. The woman told the panel she would not have gone ahead with the surgery if she had been fully aware of the possible consequences.
At the hearing on Friday, the panel did not uphold criticisms about his care of three other women he treated between May 2000 and December 2003. Giving evidence Mr Gwynn said he had "reflected long and hard on the cases" and had since made "significant changes" to his practice.
The panel heard from his colleagues that he was now "meticulous" when taking consent and explaining risks to patients. In ruling his fitness to practise was not impaired, the panel said: "We consider you have acknowledged the errors which you made and have reflected on them. You have clearly learned a salutary lesson."
Mr Gwynn remains suspended from breast surgery until the GMC lifts the restriction at a hearing in February next year. The panel will then consider whether to place a warning against his name on the medical register.
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