Vasectomy blunder doctor Nanikram Vaswani 'fit to practise'

Dr Nanikram Vaswani followed his mistaken vasectomy with an unauthorised reversal procedure, the hearing was told

A hospital doctor who gave a patient a vasectomy by mistake will be allowed to continue to practise, a medical panel has ruled.

Dr Nanikram Vaswani should have removed scar tissue from the patient at Broadgreen Hospital in Liverpool but he performed the vasectomy instead.

The doctor has been given a warning by the Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service but the panel concluded his fitness to practise was not impaired.

Dr Vaswani earlier admitted misconduct.

The tribunal took account of the doctor's "good character" and found he was "genuinely remorseful", concluding that "this was an isolated episode in an otherwise unblemished career."

It said "the likelihood of repetition of such misconduct is low" and decided to issue a warning "in order to reaffirm standards in the profession".

A warning does not prevent the doctor from holding a licence to practise nor does it place any restrictions on his registration.

Dr Vaswani admitted failure to confirm the patient's identity, failure to tell a urologist and his NHS Trust about the incorrect procedure and "inappropriately" performing a vasectomy reversal procedure on the same patient.

In his evidence, the doctor cited "complaints" from patients who had been awaiting surgery and who were "being brought into theatre out of order of the planned operating list".

Dr Vaswani said he had been "expecting to operate on a patient requiring a vasectomy" and "a vasectomy tray had been placed incorrectly in the room by another member of staff."