Courts

Woman breaks down in court as she tells of ‘unbearable’ pain after spinal surgery at Cork hospital

Woman says she was told surgery would make her into a new woman but instead she needed a revision procedure

The mother of two has sued the HSE and a consultant neurosurgeon in the High Court because of the spinal surgery at Cork University Hospital six years ago. Photograph: iStock

Fri Oct 7 2022 - 21:07

A mother of two, who was told that spinal surgery at a Cork hospital would make her into a new woman, has said she ended up with horrendous pain and later had to have revision surgery.

Amanda O’Connell has sued the HSE and consultant neurosurgeon Christopher Lim in the High Court because of the spinal surgery at Cork University Hospital six years ago. All the claims are denied.

The 51-year-old woman broke down in tears in the witness box on Friday as she told how she had “a few spinal leaks” and “unbearable, horrendous pain” after the October 2016 surgery, which had been designed to treat her ongoing back pain.

Ms O’Connell from Grange, Cork city, who had suffered with lower back pain since the birth of her second child, said the neurosurgeon, Mr Lim, said he could do surgery.

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“He told me to look up a YouTube video. It gave a basic idea what the surgery was about. He said he did the surgery quite a lot and he was very positive about it,” she told Ms Justice Leonie Reynolds.

She added: “He said there was a slight risk of infection, but he was not worried. I really thought it would be a good thing and would change my life to have the surgery done.”

Ms O’Connell had attended the hospital emergency department because of back pain and the operation was scheduled for the next day.

She said after the surgery she had excruciating pain, but was reassured that it was normal. When she was due to be discharged home, it emerged that she had a spinal leak.

Her counsel, Dr John White SC with Cian O’Mahony, told the court the surgery had devastating consequences for Ms O’Connell.

He said it was supposed to relieve her severe back pain. He said she was told the surgery would make her into a new woman but instead she had constant pain and needed revision surgery.

Counsel said Ms O’Connell was told she would only spend seven days in hospital but ended up spending four months as a result of alleged infection and she “had pain at an entirely different level from before the surgery”.

He said it was “now at a devastating level”.

Ms O’Connell, he said, was referred to Beaumont Hospital in 2017 for review and while her pain was mitigated at the moment, she has considerable pain than before the first operation.

Counsel said it was their case Ms O’Connell was never told the pain could get worse, and from talking to Mr Lim “she thought she had nothing to lose and everything to gain”.

Counsel said it was their case that the surgeon had a clear duty to warn of the risks of surgery and the alternatives which would have been a referral to a pain psychologist.

“But that didn’t enter the picture at all. It would appear cheaper for her to undergo surgery than provide a pain psychologist,” counsel said.

Counsel said the consultant told her to look at a video of the procedure on YouTube. “It was not wrong of him as such but it was not enough. This was a major operation with the risk to life and limb,” Dr White said.

He said it was their case that there was alleged negligence in the performance of the 2016 operation and an alleged failure to obtain an informed consent to the surgery which counsel said comes with a risk of severe complications.

It is further claimed there was a failure to advise Ms O’Connell that specialist psychological pain management to assist her in coping with her pain and disability was an alternative form of treatment to be considered when deciding whether to undergo the surgery.

It was further claimed there was an alleged failure to refer Ms O’Connell for specialist psychological pain management at any time during her long history of chronic debilitating pain before the October 12th surgery.

All the claims are denied.

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