Grandfather's shocking discovery reveals why he's in pain a year after minor eye surgery
An elderly man has been awarded $23,000 compensation after surgeons left a piece of plastic in his eye for over a year.
Gerard Blaney, 79, underwent a minor operation to widen his tear duct in March 2015. But, 13 months later, following a period of his eye watering and discomfort, the plastic tubing began to extrude from the man's eye.
Horrified, the grandfather of five tried to push it back and resorted to cutting a piece off to prevent it from scratching his pupil.
After visiting his local eye hospital, he was referred to Luton and Dunstable University Hospital, where the original operation had taken place.
There he was told he should have had a follow-up appointment just two weeks after the operation to remove the tube – something which hadn't happened due to an administrative error.
Mr Blaney, from Harpenden in southern England, said he needed two further operations to finally remove the tube.
"Seeing a tube sticking out of my eye frightened the life out of me," Mr Blaney said.
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"I had been rubbing my eye for a few days but it got worse, it felt as if there was something sticking into my eye, so I went to the bathroom to have a look.
"I tried to ease the tube out but it wouldn't move and there was something stopping it. I didn't know what to do, so I called my wife Mary to the bathroom and she couldn't believe it either.
"I was flabbergasted when I found out the tube should have been removed so soon after the initial operation.
"It was very poor of the hospital not to call me back and I felt badly let down. They tried to make out it was my fault for cutting the tube and not going straight to the hospital."
Mr Blaney had to undergo a further two operations before the nightmare was finally over and the tube was properly removed.
"After all of this happened I felt like I couldn't go out as everyone was asking what was wrong with my eye and questioning why my cheek was really red," he said.
When Mr Blaney discovered the tube hanging from his eye in April 2016, he tried to pull it out but he was unsuccessful due to a knot at the opposite end.
At the hospital, Mr Blaney claims he was seen by two ear, nose and throat consultants and needed further surgery just days later, but it only resulted in him being told the tube could not be found.
He then paid privately to see another consultant who decided to operate and successfully managed to locate and remove the tube.
Mr Blaney said: "I'm a lot better now and back playing golf with my friends. I've been back to the hospital since and they seem to have changed their booking system.
"I didn't have any problems with any of the consultants, but it was the process, what happened and the outcome which let me down.
"Now it's all over, I'm happy. But it should never have happened and I want lessons to be learned. I don't want this to happen to anybody else."
After seeking legal action against the hospital's trust he was awarded a $23,000 damages settlement for the medical negligence.
Solicitor Tasmin White, of medical negligence specialists Hudgell Solicitors, said: "This should have been a straightforward eye operation and recovery period for my client.
"Instead, he has been through so much both physically and emotionally as a result.
"It is simply an inexcusable error to fail to arrange follow up appointments. We see this all too often and such errors can have serious consequences."
A spokesperson for Luton and Dunstable University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, said: "We have apologised to Mr Blaney for the poor standard of care he received, and we are pleased that the case has now been settled."
