Pensioner died after bowel damaged in op at Oswestry Orthopaedic Hospital
A pensioner died in hospital after surgeons perforated her bowel while trying to insert a catheter, an inquest was told.
Barbara Edith Worthington died nearly two weeks after the surgery at Oswestry Orthopaedic Hospital in April this year.
The 82-year-old osteoporosis sufferer, from Malvern, was admitted to the hospital after suffering a fractured neck and spine following a fall at home.
Consultant surgeon Mr Joy Roy Chowdhury, who carried out the procedure, told the hearing at Shirehall that he had carried out "between 70 and 80" similar operations at the hospital in the past three years.
He said the possibility of perforating the bowel was a known complication of the surgery, but said the operation on Mrs Worthington was the first one to result in a fatality.
The inquest heard a post mortem revealed the cause of death was peritonitis, brought about by a perforated small bowel and the insertion of a catheter.
Mrs Worthington died at the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital on May 10 this year.
Mrs Worthington's daughter Ann expressed concerns that her mother was not well enough to undertake the surgery – and that the family had not been consulted before the surgery took place on April 29.
But Mr Chowdhury said: "When I asked her (Mrs Worthington) on the day of the consent, I did not fell she was unwell in any way."
Shropshire coroner Mr John Ellery asked him: "Did she consent to the procedure?"
"Yes," Mr Chowdhury replied. "She said she was happy to proceed."
The surgeon said he had now changed his practices as a result of Mrs Worthington's death.
"I now ask all patients if they want to speak to their family before deciding on consent," he said.
Mr Ellery recorded a verdict of death as a result of complications with a surgical procedure.
He said: "There clearly was a misunderstanding between the family and Mr Chowdhury, but I cannot resolve that.
"It seems clear to me, had that conversation taken place (between the surgeon and Mrs Worthington's family) and had the surgery been delayed it would not have by itself affected the risk or the outcome. This was a known complication of the procedure."
