Woman commits suicide after she says surgeon removed ovaries 'in the way' without consent

John Bacon | USA TODAY

A renowned British surgeon is under investigation after a patient accused him of saying he removed her ovaries because they were "in the way" during surgery in 2016 to mend a bowel disorder without her consent.

The patient, Lucinda Methuen-Campbell, 58, hanged herself in January after telling loved ones she could no longer live with the pain she suffered since the surgery, according to a coroner's inquest this week.

Physician Anthony Dixon, who performed a vaginal mesh implant on Methuen-Campbell, has developed an international reputation for using the implant to fix bowel problems. Scores of women, however, have come forward in recent months claiming Dixon was too quick to recommend invasive surgical procedures.

Dixon has declined to discuss specific allegations due to patient confidentiality. But he says that while all surgical procedures can result in complications, the vast majority of his operations have been successful.

Methuen-Campbell, after her operation, told the BBC she had not consented to her ovaries being removed during consultations with Dixon at The Spire Hospital in Bristol.

She said she was stunned when he told her what he had done.

"He said he thought he'd done me a favor," Methuen-Campbell said. " 'I thought you know, a woman of your age wouldn't really need her ovaries... (and) they were in the way'. My life is absolutely ruined."

Philip Chatfield, Methuen-Campbell's former partner, found her hanged in the attic of her home in the village near Swansea, 180 miles west of London.

More: How dangerous doctors escape despite data bank

More: Iowa's senators rip VA's slow response to illegal doctor hiring case

"The pain continued to get worse and nobody seemed able to solve the problem," Chatfield said at the inquest this week. "She had a follow-up operation which made things even worse."

Assistant coroner Aled Gruffydd concluded that the death was a suicide, finding that the operation was unsuccessful, made her pain worse and ultimately "affected her mental health."

Dixon was suspended from conducting the surgery at two hospitals in Bristol and is under investigation by the Britain's National Health Service and the General Medical Council.