Surgeon ‘told patient to rub her boobs and said her husband should join after lying she needed cancer operation’
Leanne Joseph, 25, tells jury consultant Ian Paterson made the 'inappropriate remark' after he removed her milk ducts
A SURGEON accused of performing unnecessary operations to earn more cash told a patient her husband should "moisturise her breasts vigorously" to relieve pain, a court heard.
Leanne Joseph, 25, said consultant Ian Paterson, 59, made the "inappropriate remark" after he removed her milk ducts — allegedly without medical need.
Mrs Joseph told a jury how Paterson persuaded her to have the surgery on her left breast after she was treated by him in October 2006.
Breaking down in tears as she gave evidence via video-link, Mrs Joseph, now 36, said: "Mr Paterson told me to come and have the right side removed as well.
"I didn't have the operation straight away because I did not have the money and Mr Paterson was very busy.
"He said he thought it was a similar problem to the left side.
"I didn't see my GP in this time and the only reason I went to see him was because I was upset about how my scars looked.
"It is hard to tell people what it feels like to have your nipples cut open but I was in a lot of pain."
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Under cross examination, Nicholas Johnson QC, defending Paterson, said: "Did Mr Paterson advise you to moisturise your breasts vigorously to relieve the pain?"
Mrs Joseph replied: "I remember that day very clearly because Mr Paterson made a very inappropriate remark by saying it was something that my husband could join in with."
The court heard yesterday how Mrs Joseph was left "devastated" when she could not breastfeed her daughter following ops on both breasts done by Paterson.
He had told her scans revealed she had pre-cancerous cells and should have her milk ducts removed, but further scans showed there were no abnormalities, the jury heard.
Mrs Joseph told the court: "I was upset but Mr Paterson made me see it was the right thing to do.
"He made me think that it wouldn't really be a problem not breastfeeding at the time.
"The cells were pre-cancerous and I didn't want to die."
Speaking about Mrs Joseph's case, medical expert Ian Monypenny said: "In the letter to the GP, it said that there seemed to be no abnormality in the right breast.
"If there was copious discharge from her right breast, I would suggest that is an abnormality.
"Conducting an operation at that stage is something I would suggest is five steps too far.
"I would simply not have considered operating to reduce the discharge.
"If there was copious discharge on the right, I can't identify any reason why you would tell her that she had pre-cancerous cells."
Paterson is charged with performing dozens of unnecessary operations, including mastectomies, in order to earn more money and bolster his reputation.
He allegedly "exaggerated or simply invented" the risk of cancer to convince private patients to have complex surgery they did not need.
Paterson lied to one woman she needed a double mastectomy to prevent "full blown cancer" and cut into her healthy breast 27 times unnecessarily so he could justify expensive treatment to her insurer, it is claimed.
All charges relate to Paterson's private practice at Spire Healthcare hospitals in Solihull and Little Aston in the West Midlands.
Paterson, of Altrincham, Greater Manchester, denies 20 counts of unlawfully and maliciously wounding ten patients — nine women and a man — between 1997 and 2011.
The trial continues at Nottingham crown court.
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