I thought my insides bulging into my vagina was as bad as it gets – then an arrogant surgeon ruined my life

A woman whose mesh bowel surgery “ruined” her life claims she had to spend $70,000 on corrective measures.

In 2014, Dr. Anthony Dixon operated on Paula Goss, then 54, to repair her pelvic floor.

She had come to him for assistance because she was having trouble voiding due to intestinal pain.

Dixon, a renowned pelvic surgeon in the UK, invented the laparoscopic ventral mesh rectopexy (LVMR) procedure, which uses artificial mesh to elevate prolapsed bowels, or when they protrude out of the anus.

Paula was left completely unable to use the restroom six months following the “failed” operation at Southmead Hospital in Bristol.

”always needed to be near the bathroom” prevented her from leaving her house.

Paula was compelled to seek private care even though she pushed the NHS for proper surgery.

In 2019, five years following the initial procedure, she paid $32,000 to have the mesh successfully taken out.

Because of the harmful effects of the mesh, she had to pay an additional 43,000 for a private hernia operation in November 2019.

Dixon was suspended in 2017 after being reported to the General Medical Council (GMC) in 2015.

In 2019, the hospital trust ultimately fired him.

According to a more thorough review by North Bristol NHS Trust, Dixon harmed 259 patients during his tenure at Spire Bristol Hospital and 203 individuals through needless treatments.

In July 2024, a Medical Practitioners Service tribunal found that a six-month ban was “appropriate” in spite of this.

He is no longer employed as a physician.

Paula, a part-time driver from Bristol, South Gloucestershire, stated: “I am completely devoid of sensation across my abdomen, from the waist to the pubic bone.

“He has destroyed my life, and I haven’t slept through the night in over a decade because the agony worsens when I lie down for extended periods of time.

“My body has altered so greatly that I can’t even recognize certain portions of it, like my belly button.

“I haven’t been the vivacious, carefree person I once was.

“We would never have been able to pay for my private care if my spouse hadn’t received a life insurance settlement.

“It was awful to have the tribunal hover over us, and their conclusions are shocking.

“It’s an injustice to everything we’ve been put through and I believe there are hundreds more victims out there.”

WATERMELON-SIZED TUMOUR

The discovery of a watermelon-sized fibroid growing inside Paula’s womb in 2009 marked the beginning of her battle.

Three years after having a successful hysterectomy, she went to her neighborhood general practitioner because she was having gastrointestinal problems.

In September 2011, Paula, who is married to 62-year-old financial advisor Kevin Goss, was referred to Southmead General Hospital surgeon Dixon.

Two years later, Dixon determined that she had full bowel and bladder prolapse, a condition in which the pelvic organs fall because the muscles and ligaments supporting them weaken.

However, she later discovered that she had actually experienced a rectocele, which is a prolapse of the wall between the vagina and the rectum.

In order to restore injured or weak tissue, Dixon suggested rectopexy surgery, which involved inserting surgical mesh in the rectum and vaginal regions.

“I wouldn’t say I trusted Dixon, I thought he was odd and arrogant.” “Paula said.”

“He only ever called the process LVMR when he spoke to me.

However, you never questioned surgeons, and I had always trusted the NHS.

“I was desperate and in pain – Dixon preyed on that vulnerability.”

Paula had the four-hour treatment on August 26, 2014, but she returned to her general practitioner six months later since she had not seen any improvement in her condition.

The single mother was left in terrible discomfort, swollen all the time, and unable to use the restroom.

A panel from the Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service (MPTS) found that Dixon did not sufficiently explain treatment alternatives to one patient during a consultation, and that the option to forego treatment was not brought up.

A litigation specialist informed Paula that a posterior fascial repair, which involves mending the damaged connective tissue, would have been the best course of action.

“When I went back to the GP, they kept telling me to take more painkillers, but they block you up even more – it was a vicious cycle,” said Paula.

“I trusted the hospital because they supported Dixon, even if it seemed like they were downplaying the terrible pain I was experiencing.

“I was begging them to do anything to put me out of my misery.”

Paula continued to attend her general practitioner from 2015 to 2018, but in March 2019, she was compelled to consult with private experts in London.

Over the course of ten months, she had five surgeries, totaling $32,000, to remove the mesh that Dixon had implanted and repair her abdomen.

In the same year, Paula was notified by North Bristol NHS Trust that Dixon had injured her as a patient.

Despite initial concerns about Dixon’s practice in 2013, his patients did not report him to the GMC until 2015.

In 2017, he received a six-month suspension. According to tribunal documents, this time frame was deemed “appropriate and proportionate”.

“It would allow Mr Dixon sufficient time to develop further insight into his actions and remediate his misconduct,” it states.

In 2019, North Bristol NHS Trust and The Spire fired him when it was discovered that his “unnecessary” operations had harmed 203 other people.

However, Paula thinks that the number of victims is higher.

She created the Rectopexy Mesh Victims and Support Facebook page in 2019 for other Dixon victims, and it currently has more than 2,200 members.

Paula stated: “I’ve experienced terrible repercussions after feeling deceived by the trust, just like a lot of other people.

“Dixon’s surgery has caused me to have restless nights after night.

Although it has taken a while for our voices to be heard, I don’t think justice has been served because there are still a lot of victims.

In addition to the more than 400 hundred women and men who have been damaged by mesh, there are countless more who trusted their surgeons and suffered injuries that were not their fault.

“While we cannot take away their anguish or suffering, we can help hold those accountable and so help keep others from going through such a terrible journey.

After carefully examining 218 individuals who had LVMR surgery at Southmead Hospital, a tribunal determined that 110 of them had injuries.

Additionally, it examined 169 NHS patients who had surgery performed by Dixon at the private Spire Hospital in Redland, and discovered that 93 of them suffered injuries.

Dixon, who is no longer registered with the GMC, insists that the procedures were performed in good faith and that there is always a chance of more problems after surgery.

Tim Whittlestone, the chief medical officer at the North Bristol NHS Trust, stated: “Mr. Dixon was fired in 2019.”

“We have carried out a thorough and robust review of affected patients, and would like to reiterate our apology to all of these individuals.”

Look for the Facebook group Rectopexy Mesh Victims and Support if you have been impacted by this story.

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