Scarred for life: Paul Hill’s stomach caught alight in the operating theatre (Picture: Gazette)

A man was left scarred for life when his stomach burst into flames while undergoing surgery.

It is thought an alcohol-based steriliser ignited while Paul Hill was on the operating table at the University of North Tees in Stockton.

The 43-year-old was under general anaesthetic having treatment for a hernia when the accident happened.

Hospital have now launched an investigation into what went wrong in the operation theatre.


Mr Hill, a father-of-four from Thornaby in Teesside, suffered permanent scarring during the incident.

He only realised what happened after he came round from the anaesthetic. He needed the operation due to a long-running battle with the condition familial adenomatous polyposis.



He told the Middlesbrough-based Gazette newspaper: ‘I didn’t even know it was possible. When they told me I didn’t know what to think.’

Mr Hill, who works for Morrisons, said he hoped the hospital would learn from his experience, as it could kill another patient.

A spokeswoman for the North Tees and Hartlepool NHS Foundation Trust said: ‘We take incidents like this extremely seriously.

‘A thorough investigation into what happened and what can be put in place to prevent this happening again has almost been concluded.’