Unnecessary kidney surgery led to bowel damage and infections that plagued patient for final 20 months

What happened

Four years after undergoing treatment for ovarian cancer, Mrs P had some routine scans and blood tests, which doctors thought were suggestive of a new kidney cancer. They operated to remove Mrs P's kidney and this led to bowel damage. After the operation, tests showed that Mrs P's cancer was recurrent ovarian cancer. Mrs P received, and responded well to, palliative chemotherapy (treatment given to relieve symptoms rather than cure), but was plagued by infections at the site of the kidney surgery for the rest of her life. Mrs P's daughter, Miss P, complained that her mother received inadequate care and treatment from the Trust. She said that her mother might have had a longer life and that her suffering could have been avoided.

What we found

The Trust failed to provide an accurate diagnosis or effective treatment. The doctors should have done more to obtain an accurate diagnosis before operating to remove Mrs P's kidney. Also, the surgeon who carried out the kidney surgery should have recognised that there would be a high risk of bowel damage and done more to avoid it. An accurate diagnosis would have avoided surgery and led to Mrs P getting chemotherapy earlier.

Although we could not say that she would have lived longer if this had happened, she would not have suffered the bowel damage that led to undignified suffering. The Trust also did not investigate Miss P's complaint thoroughly.

Putting it right

The Trust acknowledged and apologised for its failings, and paid Miss P £4,000 for distress. It also agreed to put together action plans showing learning from this complaint.