Suicide of mother, 58, left in unbearable pain after mesh implant op
... and surgeon removed ovaries ‘because they were in the way’
A MOTHER killed herself because she was left in terrible pain after mesh implant surgery.
Lucinda Methuen-Campbell, 58, was also distressed that during the same operation a doctor removed her ovaries without her knowing, an inquest heard.
Mrs Methuen-Campbell went to a private hospital in Bristol for the implant to treat a problem with her womb and a painful bowel disorder.
An inquest was told that during the procedure, which was carried out in 2016, surgeon Tony Dixon removed her ovaries ‘ because they were in the way’. Mrs Methuen-Campbell’s son Angus, 19, said: ‘ She was in a great deal of pain after the operation and she was very upset that her ovaries had been removed.’
Swansea Coroner’s Court heard the mother- of- two was found hanged in her home in January. Assistant coroner Aled Gruffydd concluded: ‘ The pain she was in led to her taking her own life.’
In an interview last year, Mrs Methuen-Campbell had told the BBC that her life was ruined as a result of the surgery at The Spire Hospital in Bristol.
She said she had lengthy consultations with Mr Dixon, but that the prospect of having her ovaries removed was never discussed – leaving her unable to be even ‘vaguely prepared’.
She told the BBC: ‘ He said he thought he’d done me a favour. And he said “I thought you know, a woman of your age, wouldn’t really need her ovaries.”
‘I said “why did you remove them?” and he just said “they were in the way”.’
Mr Dixon has built up an international reputation for using mesh implants to fix bowel problems but is currently suspended from two hospitals in Bristol.
Mrs Methuen-Campbell’s ex-partner Philip Chatfield, a sculptor, told the inquest: ‘Mr Dixon performed the operation in 2016 with the mesh but it was unsuccessful and caused her to be in agony. She had a followup operation which made things even worse.’
Angus was the son of Mr Chatfield and Mrs Methuen-Campbell. The inquest heard Angus called his father when he saw the attic ladder was down.
Mr Chatfield found his ex-partner hanged in the attic of her home in the village of Three Crosses, near Swansea. Nearby was a message saying: ‘I’m sorry Angus, I love you, best son ever’.
Mr Gruffydd said the pain affected Mrs Methuen-Campbell’s mental health. He recorded a suicide conclusion.
The General Medical Council has stopped Mr Dixon from performing another form of bowel surgery, known as a Starr procedure until November 2018.
The NHS has also referred him to the GMC over the mesh procedures.
North Bristol NHS Trust is investigating the consultant, who worked at Southmead Hospital.
Mr Dixon has insisted all operations can have problems, but his are done in good faith and the majority are successful. Ventral mesh rectopexy was the technique he became associated with. It is an implant used to treat pelvic organ prolapse, incontinence and constipation in women.
Childbirth is the number one cause of prolapse, which occurs when the muscles of the pelvic floor, which support the vagina, womb and rectum, weaken later in life. When the pelvic floor fails, the organs it supports fall out of place.
The mesh is usually made from prolene, a synthetic material which prevents prolapse. For help, call the Samaritans on 116 123 or log on to samaritans.org.