Mesh bowel patients call for publication of Bristol Spire Hospital report

Patients whose lives were damaged by surgery for bowel problems are calling for a long-awaited report to be published.

More than 200 patients underwent mesh bowel operations in Bristol they might not have needed.

The surgery was carried out by Tony Dixon at Southmead Hospital and the private Spire Hospital, in Redland.

Mr Dixon has previously said that he is unable to comment while proceedings are ongoing.

He has always maintained the operations were done in good faith, and any surgery could have complications.

A review by North Bristol NHS Trust was published in May 2022, but patients are still waiting to hear from Spire.

Surgeon Mr Dixon, who was dismissed in 2019, pioneered the use of artificial mesh to lift prolapsed bowels - a technique known as laparoscopic ventral mesh rectopexy (LVMR) - often caused by childbirth.

Jill Smith, 69, from Westbury-on-Trym, paid privately to go to Spire. She said she is still in severe pain following her surgery.

"Emotionally it has affected me big time. It is just horrible," she said.

"The stress and panic I get going anywhere, is, 'will I have an accident or something?'.

"The lack of ability to be able to do stuff that I have always enjoyed. I have to be very, very careful about what I eat, because I can be very unwell," added Ms Smith.

Her husband, Lee, 71, said: "She thought she was going to die.

"The impact it had on her in the months that followed [the surgery] and after which she was repeatedly going back to the GP to find out what was wrong with her."

In 2019, Mr and Mrs Smith gave evidence to a Spire consultant, Paul Durdy, who led a review commissioned by the hospital to look into Mr Dixon's work.

Mr Durdy told Mrs Smith he believed her symptoms were a direct result of the operation carried out by Mr Dixon.

But the hospital contradicted this, saying no harm had been done.

"I think they thought 'oh my god' this is going to be the ruination of us," Mr Smith said.

"So they then started up another procedure, which was done at a distance, nobody ever spoke to us, nobody ever spoke to Jill to discover what her symptoms were, as far as I can ascertain never looked at Paul Durdy's notes.

"It just seems to be very conveniently put together and if you don't challenge it you will get what you are given, and I am not prepared to take what I am given."

Mr Smith challenged Spire's claim and eventually the hospital admitted his wife had come to harm.

Spire then started a fresh review in 2020, which is yet to be seen.

On Friday, former patients of Mr Dixon gathered outside the hospital to demand the findings of the review be published.

Paula Goss, founder of campaign group Rectopexy Mesh Victims and Support, said her organisation had received hundreds of calls and emails from patients who had never been contacted by Spire.

"We don't feel the review is being done comprehensively or independently," she said.

Spire said the review of the care of patients treated by Mr Dixon would cover more than 20 years.

They said the review would be comprehensive "out of an abundance of caution, and because we want to do the right thing by our patients".

In a statement, it added: "Mr Dixon was employed by his local NHS Trust and held practising privileges at Spire Bristol Hospital.

"We suspended Mr Dixon in 2017, and he has not practised in our hospitals since then.

"We also referred Mr Dixon to the General Medical Council (GMC) and have supported them with their investigations.

"We and the local NHS trust have worked together to review the care of patients treated by Mr Dixon at the NHS trust and at Spire.

"The NHS trust's review is now complete. Spire is undertaking a comprehensive review, which remains ongoing.

"We have apologised and provided support to all who received a poor standard of care."

The GMC is set to examine Mr Dixon's work and conduct in September.

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