A 60-year-old woman never came home after weight-loss surgery… but the surgeon is still allowed to keep practicing?
Joanne Downie went in for weight-loss surgery and never came home.
Now, her family is demanding answers as the surgeon responsible continues to practice interstate without restriction.
Joanne hoped the surgery would allow her to stay active and run around with her grandchildren. Supplied
Downie, 60, booked in for a Roux-en-Y gastric bypass with Dr Stefaan De Clercq at the Friendlies Society Private Hospital in Bundaberg.
She hoped the surgery would allow her to stay active and run around with her grandchildren.
But in the days following the routine procedure, Downie suffered severe post-operative pain and was unable to walk or use the bathroom.
Four days after the initial operation, scans revealed a bowel obstruction. De Clercq performed emergency surgery, but the damage was already done.
Downie was taken to the intensive care unit at Bundaberg Public Hospital and put on life support, where she died five days after her surgery from multi-organ failure caused by a bowel rupture and infection.
A coroner found that during the initial surgery, De Clercq caught Downie’s small bowel in the closing stitches of her operation, leading to the fatal blockage.
Despite a complaint being lodged with the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA) nearly three years ago, the health regulator’s investigation remains ongoing.
De Clercq faces no restrictions on his medical license, allowing him to relocate from Bundaberg to practice at a clinic in Melbourne
Maurice Blackburn Lawyers has taken legal action on behalf of Downie’s family against both De Clercq and the private hospital.
De Clercq declined to comment to A Current Affair. A Current Affair
Maurice Blackburn alleges the surgeon failed to meet standard surgical care and that the hospital failed to intervene despite earlier reports of patient complications.
Advertisement
When confronted by A Current Affair in Melbourne regarding complaints and civil lawsuits, De Clercq declined to comment, saying his departure from Queensland was a “personal decision”.
AHPRA told A Current Affair it could not comment on individual practitioners due to privacy laws, while the hospital confirmed De Clercq was no longer accredited at its Bundaberg facility.
SOURCE: 9 NEWS
https://www.nine.com.au/australia-news/a-current-affair/joanne-died-after-a-botched-gastric-bypass-but-her-surgeon-is-still-operating-20260813-p60o76.html
