BREAST SURGEON DID ‘UNNECESSARY OPERATIONS’
A breast surgeon from Trafford has been convicted of 17 counts of wounding with intent after carrying out a series of “completely unnecessary” operations. Ian Paterson (pictured), who was also convicted of three counts of unlawful wounding, lied to patients and exaggerated – or invented – the risk of cancer to convince them to go under the knife. The 59-year-old of Castle Mill Lane, Ashley, Altrincham, did so for “obscure motives” which may have included a desire to “earn extra money”, his trial at Nottingham Crown Court heard. He was described in court by one victim as being “like God”.
A BREAST surgeon has been convicted of carrying out a series of “completely unnecessary” operations.
Ian Paterson, from Altrincham, was described in court by one victim as being “like God”, lied to patients and exaggerated or invented the risk of cancer to convince them to go under the knife.
The 59-year-old, of Castle Mill Lane, Ashley, did so for “obscure motives” which may have included a desire to “earn extra money”, Nottingham Crown Court heard.
After a sevenweek trial, Paterson was convicted by a jury of 17 counts of wounding with intent and three counts of unlawful wounding.
Judge Jeremy Baker released Paterson on conditional bail ahead of sentencing in May.
The maximum sentence wounding with intent is life.
The Scottish-born surgeon had maintained that all the operations were necessary - but a jury of six men and five women agreed with for the prosecution that Paterson carried out “extensive, life-changing operations for no medically justifiable reason”.
Paterson sobbed as the foreman of the jury returned the guilty verdicts, as did his daughter Emily, who was also in court.
Prosecutor Julian Christopher QC spoke of 20 unnecessary operations causing “really serious harm” to nine women and a man, saying they fell “quite outside the realms of reasonable surgery”.
Frances Perks, whose mother and sister died from breast cancer, was advised to undergo a series of operations, fearing she could develop “full-blown cancer”. She said: “I think he’s a psychopath. Why would anyone in their right mind do operations to people knowing that they didn’t need them?
“My feelings towards him is I hate him with a passion. You wouldn’t be able to print what I truly think of him and what I would like to see happen to him.
“But I hope he goes down for a very long time and I hope he has a dreadful time in prison and hope he rots in hell.”
There are fears he could have thousands of other victims and dozens of women have already received payouts for treatment after settling civil claims.
Jurors were told at the start of the trial they should not conduct any research into the case - and were not told hundreds of Paterson’s patients were recalled in 2012 after concerns about unnecessary or incomplete operations.
The surgeon was suspended by the General Medical Council that same year.