PROBE INTO WHETHER OP LINKED TO MUM’S DEATH

45-year-old died nine weeks after surgery

A CORONER is to look at whether a 45-year-old mum’s death was linked to a hysterectomy she had nine weeks earlier.

Alison Cross was taken to A&E after being bed-ridden for several days and complaining of chest pain and shortness of breath.

An inquest heard her condition deteriorated after arriving at Royal Stoke University Hospital and it was discovered she had a ‘massive’ pulmonary embolism. The bakery worker, from Bryant Road, Bucknall, died a day later on January 19.

Now North Staffordshire assistant coroner Sarah Murphy has adjourned the hearing so she can ask the hospital for an extra report.

“It’s whether that previous surgery caused or contributed to the death,” she told Alison’s family.

The elective hysterectomy had been offered to Alison after experiencing problems in 2018. She was placed on a waiting list and had the operation on

November 13 last year at Rowley Hall Hospital.

Consultant gynaecologist Manjula Annappa said the procedure took around 60 minutes and was successful, with minimal blood loss.

The post-operative care followed national guidelines and included treatment to prevent blood clots. Alison was also advised to wear specialist stockings for four weeks.

She had bleeding on November

21, but an investigation found there were no significant problems. The plan was for her to have a follow-up appointment three months later.

In a statement read at the inquest, Ms Annappa said the surgery was ‘very unlikely’ to have played a role in the patient’s death as her emergency admission was nine weeks later.

In the days before Alison went to A&E, she had been suffering with chest and back pain and shortness of breath. Paramedics were called and advised her to continue taking painkillers.

Her father John Cross said: “She was in bed all weekend.

“She was extremely short of breath.” On January 18, another ambulance was called to the address. This time, she was taken to hospital.

Alison had previously tested negative for coronavirus. But when A&E consultant Dr Mark Poulson saw her on her admission, he felt her symptoms could be related to Covid-19.

The fact she had been bed-ridden could also have played a role in blood clots developing. “I referred her to the medical team,” he said.

Alison’s cause of death was subsequently put down to pulmonary embolism, haemorrhage and disseminated intravascular coagulation, with the recent surgery and immobility contributing.

Ms Murphy said there were effectively two expert opinions – one saying the surgery was a factor and the other saying it wasn’t.

The extra hospital report will also look at what happened after she was transferred from A&E.

No date has been set for the resumed inquest.

FANS of the popular More4 programme Great Canal Journeys are in for a treat on Monday.

The episode features new hosts Gyles Brandreth and Sheila Hancock navigating the locks of the Caldon and Trent and Mersey canals as they make their way through North Staffordshire. Part one of the two-part series sees the pair visit the delights of Middleport Pottery and they also stop off at ceramicist Clarice Cliff’s home too.

Filming for the new series took place last September when Gyles and Sheila both tried their hand at ceramics when they visited Middleport.