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| Girl died during spleen operation | Girl died during spleen operation |
| (11 minutes later) | |
| A girl died during an operation to remove her spleen when surgeons used a new piece of equipment without her parents' knowledge, an inquest heard. | A girl died during an operation to remove her spleen when surgeons used a new piece of equipment without her parents' knowledge, an inquest heard. |
| Bethany Bowen, five, from Cricklade, Wiltshire, "collapsed" during the procedure at the John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford on 27 July 2006. | Bethany Bowen, five, from Cricklade, Wiltshire, "collapsed" during the procedure at the John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford on 27 July 2006. |
| A new type of bladed coring device was used and severed a major blood vessel. | A new type of bladed coring device was used and severed a major blood vessel. |
| Bethany' father Richard Bowen said he and his wife assumed the morcellator used was a standard piece of equipment. | Bethany' father Richard Bowen said he and his wife assumed the morcellator used was a standard piece of equipment. |
| Oxford Coroner's Court heard that Bethany suffered from a hereditary condition called spherocytosis - it involves the body producing the wrong-shaped red blood cells which are attacked and destroyed by the spleen. | Oxford Coroner's Court heard that Bethany suffered from a hereditary condition called spherocytosis - it involves the body producing the wrong-shaped red blood cells which are attacked and destroyed by the spleen. |
| The condition causes anaemia which can only be cured by removing the spleen. | The condition causes anaemia which can only be cured by removing the spleen. |
| We absolutely and completely trusted the people involved Richard Bowen | We absolutely and completely trusted the people involved Richard Bowen |
| Mr Bowen said that despite her condition Bethany was a "happy and lively" little girl who had had a "whale of a time" during her first year at school. | Mr Bowen said that despite her condition Bethany was a "happy and lively" little girl who had had a "whale of a time" during her first year at school. |
| The court heard that one of Bethany's two brothers also had the condition and had his spleen successfully removed when he was two years old. | The court heard that one of Bethany's two brothers also had the condition and had his spleen successfully removed when he was two years old. |
| Mr and Mrs Bowen had signed a consent form but the operation went wrong and Mr Bowen and his wife were told by doctors that "they had cut through a blood vessel and she had died". | Mr and Mrs Bowen had signed a consent form but the operation went wrong and Mr Bowen and his wife were told by doctors that "they had cut through a blood vessel and she had died". |
| He told the inquest: "It was too much of a shock to take in." | He told the inquest: "It was too much of a shock to take in." |
| Internal injuries | Internal injuries |
| A few days after the operation Mr Bowen sat down with the surgeons to discuss what had happened. | A few days after the operation Mr Bowen sat down with the surgeons to discuss what had happened. |
| He said: "They described what they had used and while they were using the morcellator Beth had collapsed. | He said: "They described what they had used and while they were using the morcellator Beth had collapsed. |
| When asked by coroner Dr Richard Whittington if they would have given their consent if they knew a different method was to be used, Mr Bowen said: "We absolutely and completely trusted the people involved. | When asked by coroner Dr Richard Whittington if they would have given their consent if they knew a different method was to be used, Mr Bowen said: "We absolutely and completely trusted the people involved. |
| "If they had said they were using a new piece of equipment they had never used before, that was a different matter." | "If they had said they were using a new piece of equipment they had never used before, that was a different matter." |
| Mrs Bowen said they had agreed to the surgery on the terms that there was no other option or choice available. | Mrs Bowen said they had agreed to the surgery on the terms that there was no other option or choice available. |
| Dr Stephen Gould, a consultant paediatric pathologist who carried out the post-mortem examination told the inquest that he had never before seen the type internal injuries he found in Bethany's body. | Dr Stephen Gould, a consultant paediatric pathologist who carried out the post-mortem examination told the inquest that he had never before seen the type internal injuries he found in Bethany's body. |
| He said her death was "associated with her surgery" but in his opinion the blood loss was not sufficient to have caused it. | He said her death was "associated with her surgery" but in his opinion the blood loss was not sufficient to have caused it. |
| He said: "Surgery was a trigger to an event, but we are not clear what that event was." | He said: "Surgery was a trigger to an event, but we are not clear what that event was." |
| The inquest continues. | The inquest continues. |