Updated 7.26pm
A 59-YEAR-OLD breast surgeon who carried out “wholly unnecessary procedures” on patients was convicted of malicious wounding at Nottingham Crown Court today.
Ian Paterson was found guilty of performing the sometimes radical surgeries on nine women and one man between 1997 and 2011 at his West Midlands practice.
In all, he was convicted of 17 counts of wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm and three counts of unlawful wounding.
In most cases, he told the victims that they were at risk of developing breast cancer.
The procedures he carried out on them, however, were not necessary. Some of the surgeries included the removal of breast tissue and double mastectomies.
Victims detailed the physical and psychological effects that these procedures had on them to the court.
One victim, who became pregnant in the years following a procedure, said she was told by Paterson that she would be unable to breast feed her child, but this was not the case.
Specialist prosecutor Pamela Jain said: “Ian Paterson carried out procedures which no reasonable surgeon would have considered justified and he knew the operations were unnecessary.
The prosecution evidence showed how Paterson breached the trust of his victims by convincing them to undergo surgical procedures.
She also praised the victims who “bravely came forward to give their evidence which was of a very personal nature”.
Paterson will be sentenced some time in the near future.
The Guardian reported that the NHS has so far paid out around £18 million, including £9.5 million in damages relating to Paterson’s cases.
Over 250 patients have received payouts so far, and it is believed that although Paterson was only convicted in the case of 10 victims, there could be as many as 1,000 people who received unnecessary surgery.
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