A man who went into Portiuncula Hospital, Ballinasloe, to have a malignant tumour removed from his lower bowel, died a week later from persistent post-operative bleeding which could not be stopped, an inquest has been told.
Mr Edward Evans (56) from Beechpark, Athlone, was admitted to Portiuncula Hospital under the care of consultant surgeon Mr John Flynn on October 26th, 2000, suffering from rectal bleeding.
On examination, a large ulcerated tumour was found in the colon. Mr Evans was discharged and was readmitted to the hospital on November 12th for surgery. Mr Flynn told the jury the treatment of such a tumour was to remove it and the part of the bowel it affected. It was an advanced tumour and the chances of curing it were remote.
Removal of such a tumour, he said, was to provide comfort for the patient, not to cure them. Mr Flynn carried out a standard operation and removed the tumour, which was quite large and adherent to the bowel wall. He returned to theatre the next day to provide further treatment to Mr Evans, whose condition had stabilised. However, on November 19th, he developed an acute massive bleed. His condition deteriorated and he died on November 20th. Mr Flynn said death was as a result of persistent post-operative haemorrhage. Mr Evans suffered from a rare condition where blood vessels had grown outside the bowel wall and these had not been detected as all examinations had been of the inside of the bowel wall.
Dr Michael Cassidy, a pathologist, said the post-mortem found an abnormal collection of blood vessels in the rectum. He had only come across one other such case and there was no way of recognising this condition before an operation on the bowel. Such abnormal blood vessels could only be seen microscopically. The jury returned a verdict in accordance with the medical evidence.