Coventry brain surgeon's tumour removal contributed to death

Stephen Bridgman died in 2016 after surgery to remove a benign brain tumour

A surgical technique to remove a benign brain tumour contributed to a man's death, an inquest has found.

Stephen Bridgman, 62, was operated on by Hussien El-Maghraby at University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire in 2016.

An inquest heard the tumour was removed whole, snapping vessels and leading to further surgeries to stem the bleeding.

Recording a narrative verdict, Coventry coroner Richard Brittain said Mr Bridgman was then exposed to infection.

Mr Bridgman, from Redditch in Worcestershire, died from meningitis, contracted while in intensive care while he was recovering from two procedures to deal with the bleeding caused by Mr El-Maghraby's surgical technique.

Mr El-Maghraby has been referred to the General Medical Council (GMC) by the hospital trust following concerns raised over the death during the inquest.

Mr Bridgman's widow Mandy said she felt "numb" after the inquest but welcomed the referral to the GMC.

"They've recognised he's done wrong and hopefully he's going to be stopped," she said.

The trust said it "accepted liability" for Mr Bridgman's death and "unreservedly apologised" to his family.

Hussien El-Maghraby has since been referred to the General Medical Council

Concerns were first raised about Mr Bridgman's treatment after an investigation by BBC Inside Out West Midlands, however the coroner found there was no evidence to suggest the surgeon's actions amounted to negligence.

Expert witnesses Robert Macfarlane and Helen Fernandes disagreed over whether removing the tumour whole was acceptable.

It was found that the method did not identify blood vessels, which were torn away upon removal of the tumour and caused the deep bleed on Mr Bridgman's brain.

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Mr Macfarlane, who had first seen footage of the surgery when approached by the BBC in 2018, was initially so concerned by it he asked if it had been performed abroad.

During evidence, he criticised Mr El-Maghraby for "favouring haste over standards", however Ms Fernandes argued the surgery was normal and appropriate.

Mr Brittain concluded that further procedures to deal with the bleeding "ultimately put Mr Bridgman at risk of the infection from which he subsequently died".