Surgery victim 'horrified' at failure to warn others

Published on Tuesday 14 July 2009 22:03

FOOTBALLER Colin Hendry's wife, who died after botched cosmetic surgery, was "horrified" the General Medical Council failed to alert other countries about the surgeon who performed the operation, her lawyer has said.

Cosmetic surgeon Gustav Aniansson is working at a Stockholm clinic, according to lawyers for Denise Hendry, who died last week, seven years after receiving liposuction from the Swede.

Dr Aniansson carried out the procedure on the wife of the former Scottish captain Hendry at a private hospital in Preston in April 2002. She suffered multiple complications after the procedure went badly wrong.

Lawyers later secured a six-figure damages settlement in November 2006, while Dr Aniansson voluntarily applied to be removed from the GMC's register.

A spokesman for Pannone LLP, the Hendrys' law firm, said the family had wanted others to be aware of Aniansson. He said: "We made requests to the GMC to inform foreign authorities and they refused. There have also been complaints against him in Sweden."

Stephen Jones, Hendry's lawyer, said: "Denise was horrified by the GMC's decision at the time and we considered judicial review proceedings – but the prohibitive cost ultimately meant that this option was not pursued."

Mrs Hendry, 43, died in hospital on Friday from a post-operative infection after spending the previous 12 weeks in intensive care at Salford Royal Hospital.

A GMC spokeswoman said: "Our primary concern is patient safety. Dr Aniansson was removed from the register on 26 June 2003 after voluntary erasure and has therefore not been able to practise in the UK since that date. Since May 2008 we have shared information about doctors who have been voluntarily erased from the register."