Hospital should have stopped surgeon from carrying out procedures, father says

A consultant orthopaedic surgeon who allegedly carried out complex medical procedures on a six-year-old girl that had “no positive impact” on her “should have been stopped”, the child’s father has said.

Dean Stalham’s daughter Bunty, who was born with a rare bone disease, underwent a number of surgeries over a 15-month period which were performed by Yaser Jabbar – a surgeon who is currently the subject of an urgent review by Great Ormond Street Hospital (GOSH).

The hospital trust has launched an urgent review of the care of more than 700 children seen by Mr Jabbar.

Bunty was allegedly subjected to procedures such as bone grafting, limb lengthening of the tibia and the use of frames in order to prevent amputation.

All procedures were unsuccessful and the youngster had a below-knee amputation in May 2020.

GOSH said it was “deeply sorry” for the impact Mr Jabbar’s care had on Bunty.

Mr Stalham said he complained to the hospital, claiming Mr Jabbar “used to sweep into the ward and talk himself up as some sort of miracle man, whilst nothing he did ever improved Bunty’s situation”.

He said an independent review of her treatment has since been conducted by an expert from another hospital, which said it was “always going to be a significant challenge” to heal the bone and an amputation would have been carried out sooner “with a more critical pre-operative assessment”.

Bunty’s condition caused her left tibia to be bowed and short, alongside a genetic condition which causes tumours to grow on her nerves.

Mr Stalham said the review found the “surgical skill and technique” of Mr Jabbar’s surgeries was satisfactory, but described the finding as “irrelevant”.

He said: “To be commenting on how skilled he was at the procedures is ridiculous and totally irrelevant, as the fact of the matter is he was subjecting my daughter to complicated surgeries which had no positive impact on her position.

“That is the issue, and from what has come out in the press over the past couple of weeks, that appears to have been the case with many more children.

“I was asking questions of this man for a number of years as things just didn’t seem right.

“He always seemed to be working to his own agenda and he used to sweep into the ward and talk himself up as some sort of miracle man, whilst nothing he did ever improved Bunty’s situation.

“I was furious and challenged him on a number of occasions, but he was so dismissive.

“I complained to the hospital also but that was dismissed too. I was repeatedly told he’d done nothing wrong.”

Mr Stalham said GOSH should have stopped Mr Jabbar “from working in this way” sooner.

He continued: “Now, only after this recent Royal College of Surgeons review have I received a letter from Great Ormond Street Hospital saying he caused my daughter harm, and offering their apologies. I think they know a can of worms has been opened.

“There’s detail in our report about him not considering other treatment plans and that an amputation should have been considered as a more suitable option earlier.

“I also find it strange that it says he wasn’t documenting details as to why the procedures were chosen.

“To me, when people don’t document things which they know they are supposed to record, it raises serious questions about their working practices.

“This should have been spotted much sooner by Great Ormond Street and he should have been stopped from working in this way.”

Bunty’s father said he will “not stop fighting” until Mr Jabbar and GOSH “take responsibility for what has gone wrong”.

Mr Stalham said: “As a parent your heart breaks when you feel that as a parent, you’ve not done enough. I imagine others will be feeling as I do.

“I did challenge things, but you always feel you should have done more.

“Due to the condition her leg was in after the surgeries and the amputation, she was only able to have a very basic prosthetic and, as the bone had been left at an angle, she now has a limp.

“The report said she had suffered mild psychological harm due to her treatment, but they don’t sit with her on a night when she’s in floods of tears at how she has been left.

“It’s appalling and I won’t stop fighting this until the hospital and the surgeon himself take responsibility for what has gone wrong.”

Solicitor Caroline Murgatroyd, of Hudgell Solicitors – who represents a number of families who were treated by Mr Jabbar between 2017 and 2022, said Bunty was one of a number of children who were “being put through the trauma of unnecessary surgeries”.

She said: “Mr Stalham is rightly upset as, until earlier this month, he had always been told his daughter’s care had been appropriate.

“Now, following an independent review, he has been told Bunty suffered harm as a result of the procedures she underwent.

“This case is very similar to all we are seeing at present in terms of serious questions being asked around Mr Jabbar’s decision-making with regards to the treatment plans he made for his patients, and his decisions to carry out procedures on children, which other experts then reviewed and said brought no benefit at all.

“There are obviously a number of concerns with this happening, as essentially very young patients were being put through the trauma of unnecessary surgeries, which of course can lead to delays in undergoing the best and most appropriate course of treatment to improve their situation.”

Mr Jabbar, who no longer works at the London hospital, is reported to be an expert in limb reconstruction but has not had a licence to practise medicine in the UK since January 8, according to the General Medical Council’s website.

GOSH said in a statement: “While it is essential that the care given to a number of our patients is reviewed by independent experts, we cannot imagine the impact this will be having on them.

“To Bunty and her family, and all the families impacted, we wish to say we are deeply sorry.

“When concerns were raised to senior leaders about the Lower Limb Lengthening and Reconstruction Service, we asked the Royal College of Surgeons to carry out a review into our paediatric orthopaedic service.

“We are now ensuring that all the findings are addressed at pace.

“A group of independent experts are now reviewing all the patients of one surgeon and we have a project team to address improvements to the whole service.

“As we complete the reviews of individual patients, the outcomes will be shared with the patient and their family.

“We are committed to being open and transparent with our families when care has fallen below the high standards we strive for.”