Dr Yaser Jabbar: Child, 11, in wheelchair after surgery - as doctor accused of 'inappropriate' operations

13 September 2024, 16:46 | Updated: 13 September 2024, 19:48

The mother of a young girl treated by a surgeon accused of carrying out "inappropriate and unnecessary" operations has told Sky News her daughter had to use a wheelchair for nearly two years after surgery. 

Great Ormond Street Hospital (GOSH) has launched an investigation into the cases of 721 children after an expert review found Dr Yaser Jabbar was alleged to have caused "serious harm" through "unacceptable" treatment, according to a lawyer acting for families of some of the young patients.

Now Claire Osborne, whose daughter Ella underwent corrective surgery on her leg by Dr Jabber in the summer of 2020, has called on a 2023 expert report by the Royal College of Surgeons (RCS) to be made public.

It comes as Duabi's CMC Hospital - where Dr Jabbar has recently worked - confirmed it had suspended the surgeon.

Ella was 11 years old when she had the operation under Dr Jabbar after she developed a condition called genu valgum, in which the knees tilt inward while the ankles remain apart. She also has multiple complex needs.

She had already undergone the same corrective procedure with a different doctor, but her recovery after the second operation was more painful and took longer.

"She just kept saying to me all the time, 'Mum, it hurts, it hurts'. And the way she was walking was so strange. It was like her knees were overlapping and they were clicking for every step she took," Ms Osborne said.

"At one point she would do 10 miles on the bike and it got to the point where she couldn't even walk around a supermarket with me."

Ella was also forced to rely on a wheelchair during this time, and Ms Osborne and her husband could also feel a screw from a plate inserted in Ella's leg through her skin.

"Ella was just so miserable. She was in pain. You can feel it as a parent - you know how a child is normally and you know when there's something wrong."

Read more: Children left in pain by surgeon's 'inappropriate and unnecessary' operations

Ms Osborne says she consistently raised concerns about her daughter's recovery, with Dr Jabbar telling her in a follow-up appointment: "If I'm not worried, you shouldn't be worried."

After consulting a private surgeon, Ms Osborne asked for a second opinion, and soon after Ella had a third corrective surgery by another doctor at Great Ormond Street.

Ms Osborne said that the surgeon "called it a miraculous correction".

"What she did, the angle at which she corrected Ella's leg, was huge."

Now, Ms Osborne is calling for a 2023 Royal College of Surgeons review - conducted before the review in which Ella's initial operation was one of 721 cases examined - to be made public.

"Without knowing facts, without knowing what, why, where, when you're still kind of in limbo. Because this report's out there. You know, it says things, but you don't know what," she said.

"It's frustrating because obviously if the hospital had known that things were going on prior to Ella being treated, maybe Ella could have been saved.

"Without knowing what the hospital knew from the report, we'll never know."

Of the 42 cases looked at as part of the GOSH probe so far, 22 children are believed to have come to harm as a result of operations Dr Jabbar carried out.

Ms Osborne has now set up a support group for other families who have been affected.

Amy Kirk, an associate at Fletchers Solicitors - a firm that is representing some of the families involved - said: "It's really important the review is given to the families in full as they are already not feeling heard [and that] the report is released in a timely fashion and that a full investigation is done.

GOSH issued a statement at the weekend apologising to the patients "who received poor care" and announcing its own investigation into the cases of 721 children treated by the accused surgeon at the hospital.

Caroline Murgatroyd, from Hudgell Solicitors, who is representing affected families, said the RCS review findings "paint a very worrying picture".

She said: "They outline unacceptable assessments, examinations, clinical decision-making, and treatments of patients, poor communication with families with regards to seeking their consent for treatments and procedures, as well as failures to make it clear what kind of complications children could face after undergoing surgery.

"There are also references to children being subjected to surgeries which the RCS review panel could see no justification for, with children undergoing procedures which brought them no clear benefit.

"The findings so far have been shocking to read and have been very upsetting for our clients."

She added: "Children have suffered leg length discrepancies following inappropriate and unnecessary surgeries which will require further and prolonged treatment, and nerve injuries causing ongoing pain."

A spokesperson for Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children said: "We know that the patients and families affected will be extremely distressed by the issues raised by the review we commissioned into our orthopedic service.

"This is not what they should expect from any service at our hospital. To all of them we wish to say we are deeply sorry.

"As we complete case reviews, the outcomes of these will be shared with the patient and their family, regardless of whether harm has been found or not.

"As we have said previously, we will share a summary of the report in our public board, but we will be sharing it first with our families."

Dr Jabbar, who qualified from St George's Hospital Medical School in London, was registered with a licence to practise until January of this year, according to the General Medical Council website.

GOSH said he had not worked there since 2022. The Sunday Times reported he only stepped down from his role last September after an 11-month sabbatical on full pay.

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