Bladder blunder surgeon told she can keep working

A SURGEON who mistakenly removed 90 per cent of a baby girl's bladder in a "catastrophic" operation has been told she could continue to practise.

The actions of Pierina Kapur went beyond mere negligence and crossed the threshold to misconduct, a disciplinary panel had ruled.

However, the panel said yesterday it did not merit being struck off the medical register and patients should not be "deprived" of her medical services.

Miss Kapur, 43, admitted she caused "irreparable damage" to the youngster's urinary tract in the botched procedure.

The child, known as Baby A, was admitted to Manchester Children's Hospital with hernia difficulties in October 2008. Then aged seven weeks, the little girl needed surgery on both sides of her stomach as Miss Kapur tackled the left side where an ovary was embedded.

The paediatric surgeon was supposed to remove a hernial sac, but failed to recognise the anatomy and instead dissected the majority of the bladder.