Surgeon was 'aggressive', court told

Kelly Dent died in Treliske Hospital in Cornwall

Consultant surgeon Kenneth Woodburn was "aggressive" from the start of an operation which eventually led to the death of a 16-year-old girl on the operating table, a nurse has told a manslaughter trial.

It was an "horrific day", theatre nurse Philippa Denton told a jury at Exeter Crown Court on Monday.

Leukaemia sufferer Kelly Dent, 16, of Illogan, near Redruth, Cornwall, died during a "standard" operation at Treliske Hospital near Truro on 2 September 1998.

Mr Woodburn, 39, of Mill Farm, Idless, near Truro, has pleaded not guilty to the manslaughter charge.

Massive bleeding

The jury has been told that Kelly died during a "standard" operation being carried out under general anaesthetic.

John Bevan, prosecuting, said the operation to insert a catheter tube into the girl's chest as part of her treatment went "disastrously wrong".

Kelly's heart was punctured during the operation, and she died on the operating table from "massive internal blood loss", the jury was told.

Mrs Denton said that Mr Woodburn was "aggressive" from the start of the operation.

Philippa Denton said the surgeon was "aggressive"

A guide wire inserted into the patient at the start of the operation had to be replaced because it became bent, she said.

Mr Woodburn "pulled out the guide wire and threw it on the patient, and that is when I got annoyed", she told the jury.

Defence counsel Kieran Coonan put it to her that the use of forceps by Woodburn during the operation was "robust".

Mrs Denton replied: "He lost his temper. There is a difference between being robust and losing your temper with something."

Mrs Denton said she was not bothered about the bad language Mr Woodburn used during the operation but added: "I was bothered about the way he lost his temper and the way that child was treated. Anybody here would be."

She told Mr Bevan that Mr Woodburn used foul language and was "very aggressive" in his manner towards the patient throughout the operation.

"The whole procedure was rough," she added.

'In control'

Senior theatre assistant Victor Strutt told the court that Woodburn's language was "over the top" and his behaviour was "agitated and frustrated".

Consultant anaesthetist Dr Adrian Hobbs, who also gave evidence at the trial, was asked whether Woodburn appeared to be in control during the operation. He said he was.

When asked if Mr Woodburn appeared to lose his temper, Dr Hobbs said he was focused on the job and that: "He was irritated, but did not lose his temper."

Dr Hobbs said if Mr Woodburn had been unnecessarily violent with his patient "I would have told him to stop what he was doing".

The trial continues.