Surgery Could Have Led to Death

A Staffordshire woman is thought to have died because of the position of her body during surgery, a coroner said yesterday.

An inquiry was launched following 36-year-old Janice Stevenson’s death after a routine spine operation in November 2006.

Her case was examined alongside a number of other surgical procedures in the same theatre, at Nottingham’s Queen’s Medical Centre, in which patients also became ill.

The investigation found Ms Stevenson, of Burton-on-Trent, developed liver problems during the operation which led to her dying.

And a trawl of medical records for similar cases discovered that another patient – a 16-year-old boy – had died in a similar way.

But police and experts at the QMC have now ruled out foul play.

The report into her death has been passed to Notts coroner Dr Nigel Chapman, who said an inquest would take place.

“The death is thought to be related to the position of the patient in theatre,” he said.

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