Botched back operation leaves father on all fours

A County Galway man spends his days on his hands and knees doubled-down in complete agony following a botched back surgery at Galway University Hospitals.

Tomás Coleman (49), from just outside Ballygar in North East Galway, is becoming immune to opiates and morphine, which give little relief from the 24/7 torture of shooting pain in his back.

The father of four young children aged six to 16 has suffered five years of chronic pain – and has been told he must wait a further three years for corrective surgery to be carried out in Dublin.

“I won’t be here in three years. The pain is too severe. I couldn’t go on another three years. I can only tolerate so much. You don’t realise, you don’t understand it unless you experience it yourself. It’s unbearable.

“Nobody can understand it unless you have that nerve absolutely burning. It’s niggling away all the time at you, it never goes away. Some days I get angry. But there’s no point anymore.

“I’m just hoping and hoping and praying all the time that someone will do something. What can you do? You just hope that someone will do something,” said Mr Coleman.

The Connacht Tribune understands that Mr Coleman is one of possibly a dozen or more patients who have suffered following operations by a surgeon working in Galway’s public hospitals, who has since left the country.

In November 2016, Saolta, the group responsible for GUH (UHG and Merlin Park), confirmed an independent audit identified “serious concerns” in relation to the consultant’s work.

Two independent orthopaedic surgeons carried out the audit of 198 spinal surgeries conducted by the surgeon at GUH during a 21-month period between January 2013 and November 2014.

The independent audit discovered that there were “serious concerns” in relation to four of these cases. Two of these four patients died as a result of the surgery, although underlying illnesses were also a factor, the audit found.

Last March, Saolta, confirmed the male consultant at the centre of the review had left the country, and did not cooperate with investigators. It is understood he is working in another hospital on the continent.

Galway/Roscommon TD Michael Fitzmaurice (Ind) this week said the treatment of Mr Coleman was “scandalous”.

See full story in this week’s Connacht Tribune.