According to a recent report, close to a hundred young patients at Great Ormond Street Hospital suffered harm due to mishandled surgeries performed by a rogue surgeon.
The children experienced severe issues such as chronic pain, deformities, lasting nerve damage, and, in one case, an amputation, all linked to operations conducted by the now-disgraced NHS surgeon, Yasser Jabbar, aged 43.
Several patients are now living with drop foot, a disabling condition that prevents them from lifting their foot properly, forcing them to elevate their leg excessively when walking to avoid stumbling.
Some individuals ended up with a significant discrepancy in leg length, with differences reaching up to 20 centimeters, following procedures under Jabbar’s care.
In response, Great Ormond Street Hospital initiated a comprehensive review by independent experts to examine the treatment of 721 patients who had been in Jabbar’s care at the facility.
Subsequently, an additional 68 cases were identified, raising the total number of reviewed cases to 789, and the investigation is now complete.
Full findings are expected to be presented to the hospital’s trust board on January 29, more than two years after the surgeon was first suspended, but some information has been released ahead of this.
Jabbar harmed between 85 and 100 children, the trust confirmed.
Yaser Jabbar, 43, treated 721 children at London ‘s Great Ormond Street Hospital, leaving some with serious injuries, different leg lengths and even requiring amputation
Pictured is the teenage boy after he had his leg amputated below the knee
At least 32 of those suffered severe harm, meaning potentially lifelong deformities or chronic pain, 36 were left with moderate harm, and 18 cases were mild.
However, some families of the children who feature in the report have criticised it, and claimed that a ‘cover-up culture’ will obscure the truth.
Some accuse GOSH of ‘failing their children’, while others claimed the report – by external surgeons using patient notes – would leave more questions than answers.
One mother told the BBC last month: ‘Mr Jabbar was known for not writing up records or keeping notes correctly, but these reviews have been based on hospital notes.
‘My daughter’s report doesn’t reflect her journey at all.’
Jabbar stopped treating patients at the world-renowned hospital in 2022 after concerns were raised about his work.
He left the GOSH in 2023 after a report by the Royal College of Surgeons (RCS) found some surgeries had been ‘inappropriate’ and ‘incorrect’.
Jabbar subsequently moved to Dubai, where he continued to operate and claimed to be one of the most sought-after doctors in his field.
Jabbar stopped treating patients at Great Ormond Street Hospital (pictured) in 2022 before leaving the hospital in 2023
Dean Stalham’s daughter, Bunty, six, underwent a number of operations of a 15-month period which all failed, leaving her in agony and taking strong pain relief for months.
However, after the Daily Mail’s revelations, he was ditched as a speaker by a major conference and removed from hospitals websites that had celebrated him.
Following the 2023 review, GOSH promised that each of Jabbar’s patients would receive and independent report to conclude what level of harm they suffered at his hands.
In another blow to the trust’s credibility, insiders have also claimed that fundamental cultural problems at the hospital have not changed.
A source told The Times: ‘If this were to happen again, do I have confidence that anything would be done differently? Absolutely not.’
A Great Ormond Street spokesperson previously said the hospital was incredibly sorry and wanted ‘every patient and family who comes to our hospital to feel safe and cared for’.
‘We commissioned an independent review of patient care, which is in line with the NHS England guidelines,’ they added.
Another parent unhappy with the outcome of the reports into their child’s care was Dean Stalham, whose daughter Bunty was born with a rare bone disease which caused her left tibia to be bowed and short and with a genetic condition that causes tumors to grow on her nerves.
Over a 15-month period, Bunty underwent a number of operations which all failed, leaving her in agony and taking strong pain relief for months.
Bunty finally had a below-knee amputation in May 2020 despite undergoing all the surgeries carried out by Jabbar, which included bone grafting, limb lengthening of the tibia and the use of frames.
In Bunty’s report, the physical impact on her was deemed ‘moderate’ – but her father told the BBC it was ‘simply wrong’.
He said the report claimed she underwent six operations – but he said the figure was actually 10.
‘Not a single one of Bunty’s surgeries worked, and none of them were of any benefit to her whatsoever,’ he told the BBC.
‘When they were trying to lengthen her leg they ended up shortening it by about eight inches.’
