Jury Inquest set for girl who died following tonsillectomy
11/02/2005
Thank you so much for handling my case so well. You came to know us at a great time of sadness and you were so kind. We will always remember you as very professional but also very warm hearted.
Sylvia, Tamworth
The Inquest into the death of Elaine Basham, who died following a routine tonsil operation, has been set for the 22nd of February 2005.
HM Coroner for Teesside, Mr Sheffield, originally announced the five-day Jury Inquest in August 2004.
33-year-old Elaine Basham died on 15th November 2001 following a routine operation to have her tonsils and adenoids removed. The operation at North Riding Infirmary took place on 5th November 2001. Soon after surgery Elaine developed complications. She was taken back to theatre twice as efforts were made to stop bleeding.
Surgeons used disposable diathermy surgical instruments during the procedure, which had already been the cause of adverse reports - including bleeding problems in another case at North Riding just weeks earlier. Just a month after Elaine's death the disposable instruments were banned in England due to problems with their use.
Elaine is one of two patients known to have died after complications arising from tonsillectomies using disposable diathermy instruments. Two year old Crawford Roney died just five months before Elaine after suffering a haemorrhage following a similar procedure in a private hospital in Manchester
On behalf of the Basham family Richard Follis, of health specialists Alexander Harris solicitors said:
"The family have waited more than three years for the Inquest into Elaine's death. The time delay has been very frustrating for them as they naturally want to know the cause of her death.
The family hope that the Inquest will highlight their concerns over the use of single use diathermy instruments. It may be the only chance that the family and indeed the public will have to discover why tried and tested surgical instruments were discarded in favour of largely untested disposable equipment. The experience of some surgeons was that the quality and reliability of some of the disposable instruments left a lot to be desired. No proper risk-benefit assessment seems to have been done. It is hoped that the Inquest will explore this and other issues surrounding Elaine's tragic and unnecessary death."
Urgent Review
The National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE) issued interim guidance in March 2004 (over two years after the deaths) on tonsillectomies that involve diathermy after an urgent review was requested by the Chief Medical Officers of England, Scotland and Northern Ireland.
Surgeons were advised to consider operating with surgical instruments that can be re-used rather that disposable ones and to consider changing the way they operate to minimise diathermy in tonsillectomies.
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