Failure to stop Paterson has proved costly for his former employers.

The Heart of England Trust has paid out £17.8m in damages and costs to 256 patients, while a civil case this autumn will see 350 private patients seek compensation.

It is the human cost of his actions which has been nothing short of devastating.

Hundreds of patients have been left disfigured.

Many still suffer mental health problems after having their cancer symptoms wildly exaggerated.

Rebecca Woods
BBC News Online, Journalist

Jade Edgington was just 16 and studying for her A-levels when she found a lump in her breast while in the shower.

She was introduced to Paterson at the Spire Hospital and, by the time she was 19, had undergone four invasive operations.

She later learned three procedures were unnecessary as the lumps were not even at risk of becoming cancerous.

"He told me we needed to get it out," she said. "He said it wasn't anything scary, but that it was big enough to get it out."

"[We thought] he's the expert, he knows what he's doing. We went ahead with his advice."

Image source, Richard T Harris

"I was 16, I was growing and changing and they would have suggested I didn't have those operations," added Ms Edgington, who is now 28 and a bank worker.

"Why put us all through that? You feel almost violated - essentially, someone has stuck a knife in me unnecessarily.

"You can't believe a man of his calibre has put somebody through something like that unnecessarily."

In the autumn, hundreds more victims will take civil cases to court to fight for compensation.

Spire Healthcare says this will be "addressed later in the year".

The court case centered on 10 patients who were treated at private Spire Healthcare's hospitals.

The firm has issued this apology.

Patient John Ingram said Ian Paterson had been convicted of "what I call dark and grotesque crimes".

He said he used his position and "charm and charisma" to lure patients in and removed body parts from people he convinced had or were on their way to getting cancer.

"Is 15 years enough for someone who has shown no remorse?" he asked. "He was acting like a victim."

Mr Ingram added now Paterson has been sentenced, he can now begin the healing process.

Image source, PA

People are taking to social media to give their views on Ian Paterson after the breast surgeon was sentenced to 15 years in prison.

Image source, Twitter

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Sir Ian Kennedy first published findings on Ian Paterson in December 2013.

The report said: "This is a tragic story. It is a story of women faced with a life-threatening disease who have been harmed.

"It is a story of clinicians at their wits' ends trying for years to get the trust to address what was going on.

"It is a story of clinicians going along with what they knew to be poor performance.

"It is a story of weak and indecisive leadership from senior managers.

"It is a story of secrecy and containment.

"It is a story of a board which did not carry out its responsibilities.

"It is a story of a surgeon who chose on occasions to operate on women in a way unrecognised by his peers and thereby exposed them to harm."

Complaints about jailed surgeon Ian Paterson had been made for years but managers at the NHS trust which employed him "preferred good news to true news", a 2013 report said.

Paterson, who has been suspended by the General Medical Council, was allowed to carry on operating on women for several years despite serious concerns raised about him by other staff, the report by lawyer Sir Ian Kennedy found.

Bosses at Heart of England NHS Trust failed hundreds of breast cancer patients, it said.

Sir Ian published his findings in December 2013 - more than three years before Paterson stood trial at Nottingham Crown Court.

The jury was not told of Sir Ian's report.

Victim Patricia Welch said outside court she believed justice had been done.

"We would have liked him to get life, but 15 years is a good sentence," she said.

"It will never fully recompense what I have been through.

"Throughout the trial he showed no remorse for his actions," she added.

She called for a public inquiry into how Paterson got away with what he did for so long, and for greater protection for private patients if their surgery goes wrong.

Gill Dallow almost died when she went under rogue surgeon Ian Paterson's knife.

As disgraced breast surgeon Ian Paterson is jailed, more of his victims share their stories.

John Ingram, who underwent an unnecessary double mastectomy at the hands of Paterson, has called for a public inquiry to restore confidence in the health service.

The 53-year-old now lives in Hexham in Northumberland, but lived in Birmingham when he was operated on by Paterson at Spire Parkway Hospital in Solihull.

He was later told by doctors reviewing Ian Paterson's conduct that his surgery had been unnecessary.

He spoke to the BBC's Jeremy Cooke.

The Crown Prosecution Service has praised Paterson's victims for giving their evidence.

CPS Specialist Prosecutor Pamela Jain said: "This case related to an abuse of one of the most important relationships in our society - the trust between patient and doctor.

"Ian Paterson repeatedly abused that trust by carrying out unnecessary major medical surgery over more than a decade.

"Working closely with the police, the Crown Prosecution Service was faced with the difficult task of selecting the appropriate charges and evidence to put before the court.

"Using clear and detailed presentations to show the medical circumstances of his victims, we demonstrated to the jury how Paterson's actions went far beyond those that any reasonable surgeon would have taken.

"The impact of Paterson's actions on his victims has been devastating, from the unnecessary distress of undergoing procedures they did not need, to the scars that will always serve as a physical reminder of what their doctor, Ian Paterson, did to them.

"The victims' courage in coming forward to give evidence enabled the CPS to secure Paterson's conviction. I hope that today's prison sentence provides them with a sense of justice being served."

Monica Rimmer
Journalist, BBC Online

Disgraced breast surgeon Ian Paterson, 59, has been sentenced to 15 years in prison.

Image source, SWNS

Paterson was found guilty of 17 counts of wounding with intent and three counts of unlawful wounding.

Mr Justice Jeremy Baker delivered the sentence at Nottingham Crown Court.

Mr Justice Jeremy Baker confirms Ian Paterson will not be sentenced to life, the maximum term.

Mr Justice Jeremy Baker is now talking at Nottingham Crown Court about the sentencing guidelines.

"[It is] unprecedented to see a surgeon sentenced for crimes of this nature.

"Further aggravating factors include the abuse of trust."

Phil Mackie
Midlands correspondent, BBC News

Mr Justice Jeremy Baker continues addressing the courtroom and Paterson.

"You tried to persuade the jury of your innocence," he says.

"You may have believed you were untouchable and this may have contributed to your complete lack of remorse."

"In pursuit of your own...material rewards, you lost sight of what you were doing," Mr Justice Jeremy Baker has told Paterson.

"Without any regard for the long-term effects, you deliberately preyed on their long-term fears.

"You can be a charming and charismatic individual but you deliberately used those characteristics to manipulate your patients."

Phil Mackie
Midlands correspondent, BBC News

Mr Justice Jeremy Baker tells the court of the physical and psychological impact on the victims: 'That has been great," he says.

"There's been long term effects and complications meaning they still suffer.

"They all fell violated and vulnerable.

"Some suffer PTSD, depression and anxiety."

Victim Judith Conduit is looking at Paterson as the judge continues to read out the effects of his actions.

Another victim Rachel Butler is also sitting listening as her story is told to the court. Paterson is still shaking his head from time to time.

Image source, PA