Surgeon defends cancer ops

A BREAST surgeon accused of carrying out unnecessary operations has told a court there is always a ‘spectrum’ of opinion on how best to treat cancer.

Ian Paterson said just as there were ‘shades of grey’ in how potentially precancerous cells were dealt with, so there were differences in how surgeons treated different patients.

At Nottingham Crown Court yesterday, the Scot said: ‘Medical opinion has that spectrum of activity. There are minimalists, there are the middle-grounders and there are the radicalists.’

The court also heard key clinical notes had been shredded, while others were ‘missing’. Paterson denies 20 counts of wounding with intent against nine women and one man relating to procedures he carried out between 1997 and 2011.

Jurors have previously heard claims he carried out unnecessary operations for ‘obscure motives’ which may have included a desire to ‘earn extra money’.

The jury have heard prosecution expert evidence from two consultants, who claimed a different approach could have been adopted to Glasgow-born Paterson’s alleged victims. But the 59-year-old said: ‘It’s important to remember these experts in this case conducted a paper exercise.’

The surgeon, of Altrincham, Cheshire, was formerly employed by Heart of England NHS Trust and at Spire Healthcare.

Paterson also told how copies of clinical meetings to discuss a second opinion would be shredded.

In earlier evidence he had described the lack of records from meetings as ‘frustrating’. But yesterday he said there was ‘no need’ to keep his copies as they formed part of the patient’s own consultation notes.

Paterson also denied misrepresenting patients’ test results to dupe insurers into paying for surgery. The trial continues.