Surgeon struck off after life-threatening bowel error

What's happened

A surgeon has been struck off after a botched emergency procedure at Royal Oldham Hospital left a patient in severe pain and reliant on a second operation to salvage bowel function. Tribunal finds the operation to connect the small intestine and stomach was “not compatible with life.”

What's behind the headline?

Brief

• The tribunal convened in Manchester has found Dr Abdel Rahman’s procedure to be a major surgical error, described as the most extreme form of mishap for a consultant. The patient’s care required escalation to salvage bowel function by a second operation.
• Multiple witnesses characterized the initial move as bizarre and not compatible with life, highlighting a grave breach of standard surgical practice.

What this means

• This ruling reinforces rigorous standards for surgical conduct and post-op care, particularly in high-stakes emergency procedures.
• It signals that locum clinicians must be accountable and adhere to established protocols even when operating in temporary roles.

Forecast

• The medical community will scrutinize consent, pre-op planning, and intraoperative decision-making in similar high-tumor, emergency contexts to prevent recurrence.

How we got here

The case centers on an emergency bowel procedure performed in August 2020 at Royal Oldham Hospital. The surgeon allegedly joined the small intestine to the stomach, creating a closed loop that left the patient in escalating pain and without bowel movements for weeks. A second operation salvaged some of the bowel and inserted a stoma. The tribunal later ruling concluded the conduct was seriously misproper.

Our analysis

BBC Manchester, Independent, New York Post, BBC Business saw the same core facts: botched procedure, closed loop, second surgery, patient saved by Rate, Rahman struck off. Direct quotes from tribunal testimony provide a unified thread across outlets.

Go deeper

• What exactly happened in the initial procedure and what were the follow-up steps?
• Will there be reforms to locum practice or surgical oversight at NHS trusts?
• How might this affect patients undergoing emergency bowel surgery in the future?

More on these topics

• Royal Oldham Hospital - Hospital in Oldham, England

  The Royal Oldham Hospital is a NHS hospital in the Coldhurst area of Oldham, Greater Manchester, England. It is managed by Pennine Acute Hospitals NHS Trust. The hospital has its own volunteer-run radio station, Radio Cavell, which broadcasts at 1350 AM.

• Ireland - Island in Europe

  Ireland is an island in the North Atlantic. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel, the Irish Sea, and St George's Channel.

• Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service - UK organization

  The Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service adjudicates on complaints made against any of the doctors in the United Kingdom, making independent decisions about a doctor’s fitness to practise.

• Greater Manchester - City in England

  Greater Manchester is a metropolitan county and combined authority area in North West England, with a population of 2.8 million; the third largest in England after Greater London and the West Midlands.

• United Kingdom - Country in Europe

  The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom or Britain, is a sovereign country located off the north­western coast of the European mainland.

• stomata. - Part of a plant. A pore or small hole in the surface a leaf (or other aerial organ) allowing the exchange of gases between tissues and the atmosphere.

  In botany, a stoma, also called a stomate is a pore, found in the epidermis of leaves, stems, and other organs, that controls the rate of gas exchange.