Some patients have also been left with permanent deformities.
Children at Great Ormond Street Hospital have allegedly been left “deformed” and with lifelong injuries after botched operations by a “rogue” surgeon.
Consultant orthopaedic surgeon Yaser Jabbar is under investigation due to safety concerns about procedures he allegedly conducted on 721 kids at the children’s hospital in London.
Among the patients is a four-month-old baby while another child is believed to facing amputation of a limb.
An investigation has already found that 22 children came to harm – 13 of which have been noted as “severe harm”.
Others have been left with legs at different lengths, by as much as 20cm, while some have chronic pain years later.
Some patients have also been left with permanent deformities.
Jabbar was in Great Ormond Street’s orthopaedic department.
The concerns relate to limb reconstruction, a type of surgery that involves the use of a clinical device known as an Ilizarov frame.
It is a metal apparatus invented by Soviet physician Dr Gavriil Abramovich Ilizarov. It is pinned to a child’s leg with screws and then gradually stretched to lengthen their bones.
The investigation is being conducted by five expert surgeons and is expected to take another 18 months.
Jabbar left the hospital in September 2023 after an 11-month sabbatical.
According to records, he gave up his licence to practise medicine in the UK on January 8, 2024.
This was just four days after several conditions were placed on him by the GMC, including requiring him to have a clinical supervisor at all times.
A General Medical Council investigation is ongoing.
A confidential probe by the Royal College of Surgeons is said to have compiled a 100-page report on Jabbar’s practice and the wider department.
Although it has not been made public, it has been reported that the paper criticised Great Ormond Street Hospital, its wider culture and called the department in question “dysfunctional”.
It warned the lower limb reconstruction service was not “safe for patients or adequate to meet demand” and claimed managers failed to act on whistleblowers’ concerns about Jabbar.
The hospital trust told the Sunday Times it is “vital” such reviews are undertaken “when underperformance is suspected” as it “ensures a culture of continuous improvement”.
On the wider cultural issues, the trust said:
“Like any hospital, we will have difficulties in relation to culture and practice and we are completely committed to improving these.
“We accept where there are failings. We are working on ensuring people feel freer to speak out, but there is more work to do.”
“We commission reviews such as this when culture and performance are not of the expected standard, and we will follow the gold standard and learn from their findings.”
According to his LinkedIn profile, Jabbar worked at Great Ormond Street between June 2017 and October 2022.
He is understood to be working in Dubai now.
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