Central News, Press Room, Central Criminal Court,

Central News, Press Room, Central Criminal Court, Old Bailey, LONDON, EC4.

Tel: 020 7236 0116.

General Medical Council/ps
eMail: news@centralnews.

co.

uk
http://www.

centralnews.

co.

uk
10 September 2001

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A 41-year-old woman complained that a breast implant inserted by Walker was lop-sided and made her ‘look like a freak,’ the GMC heard.

The replacement implant which was too small and had been put in too high, ‘fell out’ two months later in November 1997.

Miss Poulet said the woman, JN, had to be referred to a specialist.

‘The patient described herself as very lop-sided and she felt like a freak.

‘The breast reconstruction had been performed too high, the prosthesis was too small and in our view the patient should have been referred much much sooner.

‘

But the GMC heard Walker had no experience of breast reconstruction.

‘Although in many hospitals where Mr Walker worked he had both witnessed and performed breast surgery for cancer, evidence from a large number from his trainers makes it quite clear he had absolutely no experience in breast reconstruction.

‘It is possible he saw one or two in about 1981 and maybe one other 1997.

‘He hadn’t even performed one in a supervised way.

‘

The GMC also heard how how 86-year-old patient MS died in March 1999 three months after losing four litres of blood.

She was described as ‘oozing’ blood by Walker when in reality she was actually gushing in ‘torrents.

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The GMC was told how nurses had begged the surgeon to watch what he was doing.

She had to be resuscitated twice during the operation on a carcinoma in her bowel.

But Walker told relatives she had been ‘a joy to work on’ and blamed the death on a clotting problem.

Miss Poulet said: ‘This was true but only because large volumes of blood were needed to operate on her.

‘

Walker also left the surgery for a coffee while another woman, aged 62, lost 26 units of blood in January 1998.

The hearing continues.

ends

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