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The rise in popularity of weight loss surgery has led to an increase in the number of medical negligence claims, the Medical Defence Union (MDU) has warned. As one million Brits were recorded to be morbidly obese in 2010, more and more patients struggling with weight loss are opting for surgery in the hope of finding a quick and easy fix.
However, bariatric surgery, which includes the fitting of a gastric band, is certainly not without its risks and can lead to serious complications and even death. Concerns have been raised that patients are going ahead with surgery without fully understanding the potential dangers involved.
Any form of surgery carries certain risks due to the anaesthetic that is used. For an overweight person, these risks become even more serious due to the added complications that anaesthetising an obese person can cause.
Gastric band surgery is perhaps the most popular and most widely reported weight loss surgery. Cases of post-operative infection and gastric bands slipping or leaking after being fitted are identified as common problems in analysis by the MDU.
According to Christine Tomkins, chief executive of the MDU, the number of personal injury claims over operations gone wrong increased "tenfold" after 2008, with 21 cases between 2008 and 2010 compared to 14 cases between 2003 and 2008.
Of 35 medical negligence claims involving bariatric surgery in private hospitals notified to the MDU since 2003, at least one patient died and another was left in intensive care after the surgery.
These figures come after a report in the Royal society of Medicine's Clinical Risk Journal in November 2009 raised concerns that cosmetic surgery's increasing popularity may be exposing patients to medical negligence risks due to lax regulation.
About 25% of the one million eligible want to go ahead with weight loss surgery, but only 4,300 NHS weight-loss operations were carried out last year. Official figures for the number of private-sector operations carried out do not exist but are estimated to be about 5,000 which are all self-funded by the patients.
Compensation claims have been made for slipped bands, perforations of the gut, technical problems inflating the band and also for a swab that was left inside a patient and had to be removed during further surgery.
If you have suffered medical negligence during a hospital stay, you deserve to make a personal injury claim for any suffering that you have endured. Clinical negligence can ruin the confidence that you should be able to place in the medical professionals that treat you.
Make a medical negligence claim with YouClaim today
At YouClaim, our team of personal injury lawyers are sensitive to the upset and trauma that medical negligence can bring. Our years of experience and expertise in this field will ensure that you gain the compensation you deserve.
Why not speak to one of our friendly advisers today and find out more about making a medical negligence claim today.
