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Woman died following weight-loss operation
A SELF-CONFESSED South Yorkshire chocaholic desperate to lose weight so she could fit into designer clothes died days after undergoing obesity surgery, an inquest heard.
Lynda Taylor, aged 33, from Rotherham, suffered a severe reaction to an abdominal infection after gastric bypass surgery.
Devastated husband Peter Taylor, a HGV driver, today warned others not to undergo the operation unless it was a matter of life or death.
"We all told her not to do it but it was something she wanted so badly," said Mr Taylor, who was married to his wife for just 13 months before her death.
"She wanted the surgery so she could get back into designer clothes.
"She was scared about the operation, she had seen documentaries on TV but the pros outweighed the dangers."
Mrs Taylor, of Low Grange Road, Thurnscoe, was 5ft 1in tall but weighed nearly 17 stone.
She had a tendency to binge and liked sweets - particularly chocolate, Hull Coroner's Court heard.
She suffered depression because of her weight and had previously attempted suicide.
On Friday January 28 2006, after six months on a waiting list for surgery, the mum-of-one underwent the gastric bypass operation at the privately-run Hull and East Riding Hospital under an NHS waiting list initiative.
But following successful surgery she developed complications and a further investigative operation was delayed for six hours after worried nursing staff tried unsuccessfully to contact consultant Christopher Royston who had gone out for lunch.
Mrs Taylor was transferred to Hull Royal Infirmary after the operation because the intensive care unit at Hull and East Riding Hospital - the only hospital in the north to carry out gastric bypass surgery - wasn't staffed full time.
Another surgical investigation was carried out by Mr Royston on Monday January 31 but by then Mrs Taylor had developed a severe bacterialinfection.
She died later that day of peritonitis - an inflammation of the membrane that lines the abdominal cavity.
Mr Royston told the court: "This is a very rare complication. I have only seen it three times in 40 years of surgical experience."
Speaking after yesterday's hearing Mr Taylor said he would be seeking legal advice.
He said: "I honestly think Lynda's death could have been prevented. Things could have been done a bit earlier."
Independent witness Dr Albert Fiennes a consultant surgeon at University Hospital, London, said doctors were unsure what had happened.
"If the matter had been dealt with earlier I think there would have been a greater probability of saving her," he said.
"But the way this lady responded suggests to me that she was doomed from a very early stage. She had an unusual response to a relatively rare event.
"It's nice to think that if the surgeons had jumped in six hours earlier the outcome would have been different but the difference would probably have been marginal."
Recording a narrative verdict, Hull and East Riding coroner Geoffrey Saul said Mrs Taylor died from peritonitis following complications after elective intra-abdominal surgery.
A spokesman for Hull and East Riding Hospital, run by Classic Hospitals, said: "It is a sad fact within medicine that even in low-risk surgical procedures patients can pass away following post operative complications, but of course we understand this offers small comfort for a family who have lost a mother, a wife and a daughter. Our thoughts today are with the family of Mrs Taylor."
Mr Taylor paid tribute to his wife, the mother of their six-year-old daughter.
He said: "You don't expect somebody to go into hospital and not come out. It doesn't seem real even now. She was brilliant.
"Obviously her weight got her down but when it didn't she was fantastic. I will be lucky to find anyone like her."
polly.rippon@sheffieldnewspapers.co.uk
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