I had to change jobs after surgeon fitted oversized metal implant leaving me in constant pain
“I’ve had to change jobs and I can no longer do everyday tasks with my right hand such as turning my key in the front door”
The words Lee Bruce, a former patient of orthopaedic surgeon Leslie Irwin after being told by his new consultant the pain, nerve damage and restricted movement he now has in his wrist has been caused by an “oversized” titanium replacement radial head being fitted in his elbow.
Last month (February) Sunderland Royal Hospital - where Lee had the surgery - confirmed they were identifying patients whose procedures carried out by Mr Irwin need to be reviewed and would be contacting them as a “matter of priority”.
Mr Irwin also worked at Spire Washington Hospital. The private hospital confirmed in January that it was contacting patients of Mr Irwin over concerns about procedures he carried out and that an investigation into his surgeries was underway.
Lee met Mr Irwin at Sunderland Royal Hospital in August 2018 after falling whilst playing with his daughter in the street outside his house.
The 46-year-old from Houghton-le-Spring said: “I knew after I fell that I’d broken something in my elbow. I went to Sunderland Royal who confirmed there was a break. At that time they didn’t know how serious it was and I was asked to return to the fracture clinic the next day.
“It was then I met Mr Irwin. He said I had three fractures of the radial head and that I would need a titanium replacement.”
Despite having to wait in pain for a week before having the surgery, Lee underwent the procedure and was discharged from hospital with the belief the operation by Mr Irwin had been a success.
However, it was whilst struggling to do exercises during his course of physiotherapy, coupled with the appearance of the wrist on his right arm which first led Lee to question his recovery.
He said: “My elbow felt a lot better but my wrist bone was really protruding and I was getting a lot of pain. The exercises I was being given by my physio which is part of the recovery from this type of injury, I simply couldn’t do.
“Because of the pain I was experiencing, I was sent for an x-ray and was told there was no evidence of any break, fracture or injury in my wrist.
“However, the pain just wouldn’t go away and the mobility in my wrist was so restricted. I knew I wouldn’t get 100% movement back, by my understanding following the operation was that I should have at least 80% mobility - I’ve got nowhere near that.”
With no improvement, Lee was eventually referred back to a consultant at Sunderland Royal Hospital.
He added: “I knew something was wrong, but by the time I was rereferred Mr Irwin had retired. I met with a new consultant who sent me for an MRI scan. When the scan came back he said the titanium head which had been fitted was too large and had pushed forward the bones and ligaments in my arm, which was what was causing my wrist bone to protrude.
“The consultant said this is what was causing the pain in my wrist. He said there was nerve damage, the muscles and ligaments are out of place and I have arthritis. He said it has been caused by the oversized radial head.
“Even then, I didn’t think it was medical negligence. I just thought I’d been unlucky.”
The pain and restriction of movement has had a massive impact on Lee’s life, including having to change his job at Caterpillar to a role which requires less use and flexibility in what had been his dominant right arm.
He said: “The problems I now have in my wrist mean I have to compensate for so many things I would ordinarily have just taken for granted - it has been very debilitating.
“Aside from the fact I’ve had to change job, I struggle even with things like turning the key in the door.
“Since the operation, things that I’ve done all my life with my right hand, I’ve had to adapt and do with my left. I used to play golf and I football, but I’ve had to stop. My wrist feels so weak that if I was to fall I feel it would break.
“The pain has been really bad. I was on tramadol for the best part of two years, but thankfully managed to get myself off it, although I still have to take over-the-counter painkillers regularly.”
It was after seeing other articles published in the Echo, including a woman who was wrongly told by Mr Irwin she may need an amputation and man who the surgeon missed the bone when fitting screws to a finger injury, that the situation Lee is now in began to make sense.
He said: “The operation has affected many aspects of my life, but I didn’t think of it as anything other than bad luck until I saw the publicity around Mr Irwin. It has been a shock, but clearly I am not alone.”
It was at this point Lee contacted contacted law firm Slater and Gordon who are acting for “dozens” of Mr Irwin’s former patients.
The firm’s specialist clinical negligence lawyer Natasha Charlesworth said: “What should have been a straightforward operation has left Lee with long term pain, arthritis and severely reduced movement.
“The impact on his daily life has been significant, he has even had to change his job, yet he has continued to push on to support his family as best he can.
“The realisation that something has gone badly wrong, and that many other concerns have been raised over this surgeon’s work, has clearly been a shock to him – but he has done the right thing in coming forward to find support in establishing what exactly went wrong and why.
“This is of course an alarming situation for former patients of Mr Irwin, and we have had a significant number of people coming forward already.
“To anyone else who has concerns over the care they have received, we would urge them to come forward.”
Lee’s new consultant offered to perform corrective surgery which Lee said he was told would involve removing a piece of bone to shorten his displaced bone or removing and replacing the radial head.
At the time, Lee opted against surgery as he was wary after what had happened as well as not being in a position to take 12 weeks off work due to being at the time on a temporary agency contract.
Lee said: “Whilst I’m still wary, I’m now open to surgery. This was not supposed to be a complex procedure and I do feel let down.
“I have not yet been contacted by Sunderland Royal and an apology would be nice. Surely someone should have noticed before now that the procedures being carried out were wrong.”
We contacted South Tyneside and Sunderland NHS Foundation Trust, who govern the city’s hospital, about Lee’s case and the ongoing situation with Mr Irwin.
A spokesperson for the Trust said: “We are liaising with Spire in relation to concerns over Mr Leslie Irwin and currently working through the detail of which patients the Trust will need to review.
“We have also asked the Royal College of Surgeons to support us in this process.
“As part of this review, we will be in touch with any former patients directly and as a matter of priority.
“Any former patients of Mr Irwin who do have any questions or concerns can contact the Trust directly via freephone 0800 587 6513 or email: [email protected]."
Spire Healthcare is continuing to recall patients and investigate the procedures carried out by Mr Irwin at Spire Washington Hospital.
A spokesperson said: “We sincerely apologise to those patients who did not receive an appropriate standard of care from Mr Leslie Irwin, a consultant orthopaedic surgeon who has not practised at Spire Washington Hospital since 2023.
“We are currently reviewing specific procedures that were provided to a select cohort of patients of Mr Irwin and are in direct contact with these patients to offer support at what we recognise is a concerning time. The review is being run in accordance with NHS England’s National Quality Board: Recall Framework, which Spire Healthcare helped to develop.
“If any Spire Washington patients have questions about the care provided by Mr Irwin, they can call 0191 720 3031 or email [email protected] and a member of the dedicated review team will call them back.”
Spire Healthcare confirmed in an earlier statement that Mr Irwin was suspended in August 2023 and they withdrew his practising privileges in September 2024.
The General Medical Council confirmed “Dr Leslie Irwin is no longer registered, having relinquished his registration”, adding “we only have powers to investigate doctors who are GMC registered”.
We also contacted the Royal College of Surgeons who directed us to contact South Tyneside and Sunderland NHS Foundation Trust.