Bristol surgeon Tony Dixon defends not waking patient for consent

Tony Dixon has always maintained the operations were done in good faith

A surgeon has said it would have been "cruel and unacceptable" to have woken up a patient to get consent for a mesh operation.

Anthony Dixon is accused of failing to provide adequate clinical care to five patients at Southmead Hospital and the private Spire Hospital in Bristol.

He had pioneered the use of artificial mesh to lift prolapsed bowels.

Mr Dixon appeared at a Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service (MPTS) hearing in Manchester on Thursday.

He faces charges of performing procedures that were not "clinically indicated", failing to carry out tests and investigations and failing to obtain consent from patients.

It followed complaints many had suffered pain or trauma after having pelvic floor surgery using artificial mesh, a technique known as laparoscopic ventral mesh rectopexy (LVMR).

The tribunal is looking at reports between 2010 and 2016, regarding alleged failings in:

• Ensuring procedures for some of the patients were clinically indicated

• Adequately advising some of the patients regarding options for treatment

• Obtaining informed consent before performing clinical procedures

• Adequately performing a procedure for one patient

• Providing adequate post-operative care for some

• Communicating appropriately with some of the patients and their family members

Giving evidence, he was asked why he did not consider waking up one female patient who underwent an LVMR, to get her consent to surgery.

Mr Dixon said it would have meant giving her more drugs for pain relief and could have "multiplied the risks" to her.

He is also accused of failing to advise patients about the risks of procedures, failing to discuss non-surgical options and dismissing patients' concerns when they experienced pain or other symptoms following surgery.

Some patients treated at the Spire Hospital and Southmead Hospital said they received poor aftercare

The tribunal was told he dismissed another female's post-operative symptoms, telling her it "can't be all that bad" and that she was being a "drama queen".

He is accused of patting her bottom and making inappropriate comments that he "could have made her pregnant on the operating table" and, when discussing her sex life with her husband, telling him to "go home and fill her up".

Mr Dixon is accused of performing examinations on the two patents without a chaperone present, but said they had declined one, adding that he was in a "vulnerable" position because he had not recorded that in patients' notes.

The tribunal also heard that a General Medical Council assessment in 2018 found his professional performance to have been "unacceptable" in the assessment of pelvic floor patients, clinical management and working with colleagues, especially regarding his "disrespectful" behaviour towards junior colleagues.

Many former patients have taken legal action against Mr Dixon and while some cases have been settled it is understood others are ongoing.

'Struggling with his libido'

Last year, he failed in a legal bid not to be named in a case against North Bristol NHS Trust (NBT), which was aimed at stopping documents being released to solicitors acting for ex-patients.

At the High Court, Mr Dixon's lawyer argued being identified could harm his mental health as he had experienced suicidal thoughts and was struggling with his libido, which he blamed on media attention.

Mr Dixon was dismissed by NBT in 2019 following an investigation.

In May 2022, NBT admitted 200 patients suffered harm after undergoing unnecessary bowel operations by him.

The reports of misconduct relate to the period between 2010 and 2016.

Mr Dixon denies all the allegations and maintains all the operations he did were carried out in good faith, and that any surgery can have complications.

Mr Dixon is currently banned from practising in the UK.

The tribunal has been adjourned and is due to reconvene next year.