Family of 'much loved wife, mom and nan' who died at Shrewsbury hospital after surgeon caused colon tear is told 'sometimes complications are unavoidable'
The family of a “much-loved wife, mom and nan” who died after a surgeon caused a tear to her colon during an operation have been told that “sometimes complications are unavoidable”.
Yvonne Tolley, a “warm and gentle” mother of three and grandmother of 12, died at Royal Shrewsbury Hospital (RSH) on the day before her 64th birthday after her bladder and colon were damaged during an exploratory surgery.
She was described as “the heart of our family” and “adored beyond words” by her loved ones.
An inquest at Shropshire Coroner’s Court, Guildhall, Shrewsbury had previously heard that Mrs Tolley, from Dudley, had a gastric bypass in May 2024 to aid weight loss and help improve numerous health conditions she suffered from.
However, she suffered persistent sickness and pain since that operation, so surgeon Mr Michel Riera carried out a laparoscopy at RSH on January 30 last year to try and diagnose the cause.
He found numerous “adhesions” - where tissue and organs can stick together - so divided them. However, a tear to Mrs Tolley’s bladder was caused.
Mr Riera fixed the bladder tear under observation of a consultant, but an injury to Mrs Tolley’s colon had also occurred and gone unnoticed before he sewed her up.
Mrs Tolley became seriously ill two days later and was rushed into emergency surgery, before being put in intensive care. She died on February 4 at the hospital at 2pm.
On day two of Mrs Tolley’s inquest, evidence was heard from more medics, including Dr Stephen McKew, deputy medical director for Shrewsbury and Telford Hospitals Trust (Sath).
Dr McKew said he chaired a meeting of medics looking into Mrs Tolley’s death.
He said that it was accepted that the colon injury was caused during Mr Riera’s surgery, but said: “The surgery is a risky procedure and sometimes there will be complications that are unavoidable.”
Medics checked on Mrs Tolley over the course of her hospital stay but it wasn’t until around 6pm on February 1 that they realised something might be seriously wrong.
A statement was read from Dr Ellie Balsdon, who was “fast-bleeped” to attend to Mrs Tolley.
“She said her abdomen pain was worsening,” Dr Balsdon said, adding that Mrs Tolley’s heart rate was fast at 130bpm.
