Tragic Solihull mum died from heart attack after weight loss surgery
A Solihull woman, who struggled with her weight for years, died due to complications following gastric band surgery, an inquest heard.
Jacqueline O’Shea, who weighed 20st prior to her pre-op diet, had been inspired to have the weight loss operation after seeing her twin brother’s success with the treatment previously.
The 61-year-old, known as Jackie to family and friends, was admitted to Heartlands Hospital, in Birmingham, for keyhole surgery on 10th April 2012, and discharged later that same day – but on returning to her Barnfield Drive home with husband David, she began to haemorrhage internally. She suffered a fatal heart attack the following day.
During a post mortem it was discovered that the mum-of-two had a severe, undiagnosed heart condition which her surgeon called “a heart attack waiting to happen”.
Her husband David told the hearing at Solihull Council House his wife had been looking forward to finally being able to have the procedure.
In a statement, he said: “She had always struggled with her weight but she was still active; walking the dog every day.
“She had read about the surgery and her twin brother had undergone the surgery successfully.”
Gastric band surgery is used to treat obesity by tying a silicone band round the top of the stomach to reduce the amount of food that can be eaten.
Coroner Zafar Siddique recorded a narrative verdict that Mrs O’Shea had died from “a rare but recognised complication of gastric band surgery, abdominal haemorrhaging, which gave rise to cardiac arrest.”
Consultant surgeon Paul Super admitted the operation had “precipitated” the heart attack but said that in the small cases of post-op haemorrhaging he had witnessed, this was the first fatality.
“I have done more than 10,000 laparoscopic operations and I have perhaps seen this five or 6 times,” he said.
“It normally doesn’t lead to cardiac arrest. But she had a severe, undiagnosed heart problem.
“She was a heart attack waiting to happen. We just didn’t know about it.”
Staff nurse Robeena Leigh, who discharged Mrs O’Shea after the operation, said aside from a drop in blood pressure, she had not demonstrated any other signs of internal bleeding, such as abdominal pain or an abnormal heart rate.
A Heartlands Hospital spokeswoman said: “This is a tragic case and we would like to send our sincerest condolences to Ms O’Shea’s family during this very sad time.
“We accept the verdict from the coroner and continue to ensure our surgical treatments are in line with current best practice standards.”
Red the full story here: http://www.birminghammail.co.uk/lifestyle/health/tragic-mum-jackie-died-heart-7122087