Mother ‘was wrongly told she couldn’t breastfeed by her surgeon’
A MOTHER told she could not breastfeed by a surgeon accused of performing needless operations became so nervous about her baby’s health she developed OCD, a court heard.
Consultant breast cancer surgeon Dr Ian Paterson told Leanne Joseph that due to his operation it would be ‘impossible’ to breastfeed.
Mrs Joseph then became so concerned about the health of her daughter Ruby she even worried about letting her husband hold her, and was subsequently diagnosed with obsessive compulsive disorder.
Paterson is accused of performing dozens of unnecessary operations, including mastectomies, after convincing patients they were at risk of cancer in order to earn more and bolster his reputation.
Mrs Joseph was just 25 when Paterson told her in 2006 that she needed her milk ducts removed.
She was ‘devastated’ to learn she would be unable to breastfeed, Nottingham Crown Court heard.
‘But, as he put it, this was a small price to pay for her life,’ said prosecutor Julian Christopher QC.
After she later became pregnant, a scan revealed Paterson, 59, had botched the operation – meaning she had retained her ability to breastfeed. Yet he hid this from her and instructed her to take medication to prevent milk production, the prosecution alleges.
Yesterday, Mrs Joseph’s husband Mark explained the impact Pater- son’s actions had on his wife. Mr Joseph said: ‘We had been told ... that breast milk was the best way to give your child the strongest immune system. [Leanne] was very concerned, almost to the point of paranoia, that Ruby was going to catch an illness off me or anything else she came into contact with.
‘Subsequently she was diagnosed with OCD.’ Mrs Joseph met Paterson as a private patient at the Spire Healthcare practice in the West Midlands. She reported unusual nipple discharge and was told she had ‘pre-cancerous cells’. After her second visit, he advised she should have her milk ducts removed imminently.
She was told the surgery had been a ‘success’. But Paterson then said she needed another operation.
The prosecution alleges this was ‘quite unnecessary’. Paterson is accused of 20 counts of wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm. The doctor, of Altrincham, Cheshire, denies all charges. The trial continues.