General description of the work Consultant Abdominal Surgeons undertake
The Consultant Abdominal Surgeon is a surgeon who specialises in operations on the abdominal organs – the appendix, the gall bladder (cholecystectomy), the stomach, the duodenum, the pancreas, the small and large intestines (the bowel/gut), the abdominal wall for inguinal, femoral and umbilical hernia repairs.

Most common clinical areas / procedures leading to a claim of clinical negligence
• Operations involving the gall bladder – laparoscopic cholecystectomy, open cholecystectomy
• Operations involving the appendix – appendicectomy, delayed diagnosis of appendicitis
• Hernia repairs – dehiscence of a hernia repair, problems following inguinal or femoral hernia repairs, repairs of abdominal hernias using a mesh.
• Infection following an abdominal operation e.g.. MRSA infection or any type of wound infection.
• The management of patients with pancreatitis
• Bowel cancer and operations involving bowel cancer as well as delayed diagnosis of bowel cancer.
• Endoscopy and colonoscopy procedures.

Sub-Specialities / Alternative and Additional job titles
The Abdominal Surgeon may be known simply as a General Surgeon with a special interest in Abdominal Surgery or Bowel Surgery. He/She may be known as a Bowel Surgeon or a Gastro-Intestinal Surgeon.

Usual Qualifications
The Consultant Abdominal Surgeon will usually be known as Mr rather than Dr and will have FRCS (Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons) after his/her name.

Academic Appointments
The Consultant Abdominal Surgeon may be a Lecturer or Professor in Surgery at a Medical School. He/She may be an Examiner for one of the Royal College of Surgeons.

Our Experts
The Consultant Abdominal Surgeons who prepare reports on medical negligence cases on our behalf are all experienced NHS Consultants. They are in active clinical practice and they are experienced at preparing medico-legal reports. They are willing to attend Court in the UK and Ireland provided that they are given enough notice and that their fees and expenses for attending are agreed in advance.
Each of the Consultant Abdominal Surgeons who prepare reports on our behalf has particular areas of clinical interest within the abdominal surgery field and we match each case with the most appropriate Consultant.

The Report
The Consultant Abdominal Surgeons prepare their Reports for the benefit of the Courts. In other words, they prepare unbiased Reports in order to help the Court to decide the case, rather than to help one side or the other.
The Consultant Abdominal Surgeons examine all the documentation and details of the case and look at the standard of care that the Client received. They then give their opinion on whether or not the standard of care that the Client received fell below the standard of care he/she should have received.
Where necessary they provide background documentation and information to back-up their opinion.

Documentation required
The most important documentation is the Client’s Hospital Records. This documentation will usually contain their Doctors’ Records, Operation Records, Nursing Records, Out-Patient Clinic Records and Correspondence.
There may be X-rays and CT or MRI scans. If these are related to the event in dispute then copies of these will be of help to the Consultant Abdominal Surgeon when he is preparing his Report.
An account of events by the Client and/or the Client’s family will be of assistance to the Consultant Abdominal Surgeon. Copies of the patient’s Attendances with their Solicitor will also help to clarify the areas of care that are at issue in the case.

Time-scale for the Report
Once we have confirmation to proceed with the Report the Consultant Abdominal Surgeons can usually prepare their Reports within 8 to 10 weeks. If a Report is needed urgently we will endeavour to have it prepared sooner than this.

Price of the Report
Once we receive all the documentation we will provide you with a quotation for the price of the Report from the Consultant Abdominal Surgeon. If you decide to go ahead with the Report we will have it prepared and we will forward it to you on receipt of payment.
If you decide not to go ahead with the Report after receiving the quotation we will return all the documentation to you and there is no charge.

Queries on the Report / Addendums
The Reports from the Consultant Abdominal Surgeons are usually very clear and give a concise opinion on the standard of care the Client received.
If minor clarifications are needed then these will be provided at no extra cost.
If, after the Report has been completed, additional documentation needs to be examined by the Consultant Abdominal Surgeon or if additional work needs to be done in order to provide an Addendum to the Report, then there may be an additional charge. If so, we will inform you of this and only proceed with your approval.

Client Examination
The Consultant Abdominal Surgeons do not normally need to see the Client in order to prepare a Report on the standard of care he/she has received. They can usually prepare their Report from the case notes and other documentation.
If the case does progress and a Report is needed on the Client’s current medical condition and/or prognosis for the future, then it is likely that the Client will need to see the Consultant Abdominal Surgeon for an examination and we will make the necessary arrangements.