Lawyer for injured women welcomes trust's decision to dismiss surgeon Tony Dixon
A clinical negligence lawyer representing a group of women who claim they were injured following surgery carried out by Tony Dixon has welcomed the announcement by North Bristol NHS Trust that he has been dismissed.
Posted on 26 June 2019
Leigh Day clinical negligence solicitor Emmalene Bushnell is representing a group of women and men, both private and NHS patients, who were left in severe pain after pelvic floor surgery carried out by Dixon.
The surgeon’s dismissal comes after an employment investigation carried out by North Bristol NHS Trust. The trust launched the investigation in July 2018 announcing that it would undertake a "thorough review process" of all pelvic floor surgery patients treated at Southmead Hospital where Dixon worked in the NHS.
Dixon operated at Southmead Hospital and the private Spire Hospital, both in Bristol. He pioneered the use of artificial mesh to lift prolapsed bowels - a technique known as laparoscopic ventral mesh rectopexy (LVMR) - often caused by childbirth. Patients raised concerns about the LVMR surgery as well as stapled transanal rectal resection (STARR) surgery.
Dixon was suspended in 2017 after concerns were first raised and an inquiry examined 143 cases of women and men who underwent the procedure between 2007 and 2017. Dixon has maintained that the operations were performed in good faith and that any surgery could have complications.
In March 2019 North Bristol NHS Trust told 57 affected patients that they should have been offered alternative treatment first following an investigation into their care.
A spokesperson for the North Bristol NHS Trust told the BBC that a separate investigation by the General Medical Council (GMC) and a separate clinical review of colorectal pelvic floor procedures carried out at Southmead Hospital is ongoing.
Emmalene Bushnell, clinical negligence solicitor at Leigh Day, said:
“We welcome the trust’s announcement today regarding the dismissal of Tony Dixon following the trust’s investigation into complications suffered as a result of pelvic mesh surgeries. It is important that the other ongoing investigations by the GMC and the clinical review of colorectal pelvic floor procedures at Southmead hospital are completed swiftly to ensure that lessons can be learned to prevent further injuries in the future.”