Hussien El-Maghraby, based in Coventry, was filmed removing a healthy part of a brain instead of a tumour
Shocking video footage has emerged of a blundering neurosurgeon making ‘colossal’ errors as he performed surgery on patients in his care.
Hussien El-Maghraby, based in Coventry, was filmed removing a healthy part of a brain instead of a tumour in one procedure. The woman, Doreen Dunn, died days later.
Another patient, Stephen Bridgman, was left in a vegetative state and also died after he endured irreparable brain damage at the hands of Dr El-Maghraby.
A BBC Inside Out investigation has today unearthed the alarming footage, which was provided to Mr Bridgman’s widow after he died in 2016.
Chris Adams, former head of neurological surgery at the old Radcliffe Infirmary in Oxford, was disgusted by what he saw in the clip.
Speaking about the footage, he told the BBC: ‘This is very, very rough surgery. In fact I’m appalled by it frankly.
‘I have never seen this sort of tumour removed in this way – [it has] just been pulled out in one piece. It’s just completely contrary to how one does neurosurgery.’
Mrs Bridgman, from Redditch, requested the medical notes following her husband’s death in 2016. She said the tragic consequence was avoidable.
Alongside the standard medical notes, she also uncovered a short video showing 20 minutes of a three-hour long procedure.
She then passed the clip over to the BBC’s Midlands health correspondent Michele Paduano in order to unearth Dr El-Maghraby’s work.
Mrs Bridgman said: ‘I’m just so angry now that it seems like a lot of people have known about this and they’ve still let him carry on.’
A spokesperson for University Hospitals Coventry & Warwickshire NHS Trust, where he is employed, has re-iterated their priority is patient care.
They explained how an independent expert looked at the footage and revealed that Mr Bridgman’s tumour had been detached in a ‘reasonable manner’.
However, they noted it was removed ‘very quickly’. The full story is set to be aired in a programme on BBC One tonight.
Munchi Choksey, a disgruntled colleague of Dr El-Maghraby, raised fears over his work in 2014 – but was accused of bullying.
I have never seen this sort of tumour removed in this way – [it has] just been pulled out in one piece. It’s just completely contrary to how one does neurosurgery
Chris Adams, former head of neurological surgery at the old Radcliffe Infirmary in Oxford
He spoke out again today after looking at pathology scans of Doreen Dunn’s brain.
The woman, from Coventry, died just days after Dr El-Maghraby removed a large chunk of her brain – rather than a tumour.
After viewing the medical scans, Mr Choksey told the BBC: ‘It is a colossal error for any neurosurgeon to make.’
Royal College of Surgeons’ inspectors recommended that Mr El-Maghraby avoided performing two procedures in September until further training.
They included: awake craniotomies for intrinsic primary brain tumours and certain complex spinal surgical procedures.
It followed a ruling by the General Medical Council that decided no further action was needed after they examined five of his operations.
Mrs Dunn’s case was one of those inspected by the official regulators. While the RCS looked at Mr Bridgman’s ordeal and three others.
The full BBC Inside Out West Midlands investigation is set to be aired on BBC One tonight at 7.30pm.