More inquests of jailed surgeon's patients to open

Inquests into the deaths of 65 of jailed surgeon Ian Paterson's former patients are taking place

Two more inquest into the deaths of former patients of disgraced surgeon Ian Paterson are set to open, bringing the total number to 65.

Paterson was convicted of wounding patients with botched and unnecessary operations in 2017, and sentenced to 20 years in prison. He had worked at the then Heart of England NHS Trust, which covered Birmingham and Solihull, and also at Spire Little Aston.

The inquests are to determine whether the 65 patients died an unnatural death as a result of his care and treatment.

The inquests will be into the deaths of Pauline Brown, who died in 2006 at the age of 62, and Jennifer Fox, who died in 2012 at the age of 47 and will open on 30 September.

Ian Paterson was jailed in 2017 for wounding patients with botched and unnecessary surgeries

It is expected they will then be adjourned.

Paterson is known to have treated thousands of patients at hospitals in the West Midlands.

Much of the scrutiny on Paterson's actions is to whether he performed so-called cleavage sparing mastectomies.

His trial heard the technique involved leaving some breast tissue behind, preserving patients' cleavages, but could cause a risk of the cancer returning.

Some of the women who were treated by Ian Paterson and whose deaths are now being examined at inquest