Family of woman who died after breast implant surgery secures €3.23m settlement

A plastic surgeon has apologised to the husband and family of a woman who collapsed and later died 11 days after breast implant revision surgery.

In a letter read to the High Court Prof Nadeem Ajmal offered a sincere and unreserved apology for the death six years ago of the woman who was in her 30s.

The apology was read out as the woman’s husband and family settled a High Court action for €3.23 million. The woman cannot be identified by order of the court.

The family’s senior counsel, Patrick Treacy, told Mr Justice Paul Coffey that the mother collapsed in front of her family nine days after her surgery and was rushed to a hospital where a pulmonary angiogram showed a blood clot. She was admitted to intensive care, intubated and ventilated but remained deeply comatose and died two days later in June 2018.

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Mr Treacy, instructed by Cian O’Carroll solicitor, said it was their case the woman should have been given compression stockings after the surgery. It was also their case that when she was seen by the plastic surgeon seven days after the operation when she was complaining of pain and swelling in her leg if a proper examination and investigation had been carried out, deep vein thrombosis (DVT) would have been identified and she would have been given anticoagulants and would not have suffered the blood clot.

The woman’s husband and children had sued consultant plastic aesthetic and hand surgeon Prof Nadeem Ajmal with an address at Beaumont Private Clinic, Beaumont Hospital, Dublin and Bon Secours Health System Company with registered offices at College Road, Cork which managed the Bon Secours Hospital at Glasnevin, Dublin, where the woman attended.

Prof Ajmal, the court heard, admitted a breach of duty in the case and Bon Secours Health System denied all claims.

In a letter read to the court signed by Prof Nadeem Ajmal it said: “I wish to offer you my sincere and unreserved apology for the death of your wife and mother and for my failings in care.”

It added: “I acknowledge and deeply regret the lifelong impact her loss has had on your lives.”

In the proceedings, it was claimed the woman attended with the plastic surgeon in April 2018 in relation to revisional breast augmentation.

In June she was admitted to the Bon Secours Hospital, a private hospital at Glasnevin, Dublin, hospital under the care of Prof Ajmal and had the bilateral exchange of implants and bilateral capsulectomy in an operation which took about 95 minutes.

She was discharged the following day and it was claimed she was not provided with prophylactic compression or TED stockings on discharge.

Five days later she developed pain in her left leg and swelling from her hip to her foot.

She attended Bon Secours Hospital and was seen by Prof Ajmal who physically examined her without removing her leggings.

It was claimed there was a failure to arrange an ultrasound scan or to arrange urgent admission and give anticoagulants.

The woman two days later collapsed and was rushed to another hospital where a CT pulmonary angiogram showed massive pulmonary emboli.

She was admitted to intensive care and was intubated and ventilated but died two days later.

Noting the settlement, Mr Justice Coffey offered his deepest sympathy to the woman’s husband and family.