Fraser Livesey represents heart surgeon at City of London Coroner’s Court

At an inquest conducted at the Old Bailey, represented a cardiac surgeon who was replacing a valve when the aorta suddenly dissected, which was a very rare complication of such surgery. The patient suffered a stroke and was rendered tetraplegic, dying from complications thereof some years later. The Court chose to review the operation in detail, concluding that the doctor had promptly recognised the problem and although there were differing options to address it, had acted appropriately in the method chosen. The very unfortunate outcome had been unavoidable.

The Court concluded that the surgeon had acted entirely appropriately in dealing with a very rare complication that arose during surgery that could not have been anticipated in advance.