Blackpool surgeon suspended over breast operation failings

The surgeon's actions could have led to his patient needing further surgery, a tribunal found

An "evasive" surgeon has been suspended after trying to cover up an operation in which he removed part of a woman's breast without checking a pre-op scan.

Sadagopan Varadarajan conducted the procedure on the breast cancer patient at Blackpool Victoria Hospital in 2014.

But he failed to look at the results of an MRI scan before removing part of her breast, a tribunal heard.

The surgeon, who has practised in the UK since 1983, was banned for eight months for serious misconduct.

However, the Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service stopped short of striking him off due to his previous unblemished record.

The disciplinary panel found Mr Varadarajan had actually made "a correct assumption" not to remove the whole of the woman's breast.

But his neglect of the scan meant he would not have known whether the cancer was only confined to that particular part of the breast.

If he had missed cancer elsewhere on the breast, the patient could have needed further surgery, the panel found.

'Clinical failings'

The hearing also found Mr Varadarajan had failed to adequately discuss treatment options with the patient, who had "high anxiety", and did not discuss the option of having a mastectomy instead.

The surgeon, who qualified in India, then tried to deceive another doctor to "cover-up his clinical failings" by not admitting he had failed to check the scan.

He was also dishonest during disciplinary proceedings to investigate his failings, the panel ruled.

The tribunal's report stated Mr Varadarajan "demonstrated the capacity to be dishonest over a significant period of time for his own benefit, including during these proceedings".

It said he was "evasive" during the hearing and his conduct "fell far below the standard expected of a reasonably competent consultant breast surgeon".

However it found there was "no evidence that he has repeated his misconduct" since he left the Blackpool hospital in July 2016.

He has since worked as a locum surgeon at Wrightington, Wigan and Leigh NHS Foundation Trust.

The tribunal added: "There is no suggestion of similar behaviour during his almost four decades of medical practice."

A spokesman for Blackpool Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust said: "As soon as concerns were raised about Mr Varadarajan's practice the trust carried out its own investigation and referred him to the relevant professional bodies.

"The trust co-operated fully with those bodies throughout their investigations.''