‘Crazy’ to leave breast tissue behind in mastectomy, disgraced surgeon tells inquest

Ian Paterson. Credit: PA Wire/PA Images

By Stephanie Wareham, PA Media

It would be “crazy” to leave behind breast tissue during a mastectomy, disgraced surgeon Ian Paterson has told an inquest into the death of one of his patients.

The jailed former consultant, who is serving a 20-year sentence for wounding 10 patients after being convicted in 2017, spoke at the inquest of Elaine Turbill, who died aged 63 in 2017 after her breast cancer returned despite undergoing a mastectomy carried out by Paterson in 2005.