A surgeon has been removed from the medical register after a botched operation led to life-threatening complications for a patient. Dr Yasser Adly Abdel Rahman, working as an NHS locum surgeon, conducted a bowel procedure on a young man that resulted in critical errors, described as “incompatible with life” by a tribunal.

The patient’s bowels were incorrectly connected during the surgery, causing a dangerous situation where waste material was redirected back into the stomach instead of following the normal digestive process. This error, known as a “closed loop” system, posed a severe risk to the patient’s life and left him in excruciating pain until another surgeon intervened in an emergency second operation.

Despite concerns raised by the patient’s family and other medical professionals, Dr Rahman failed to acknowledge any surgical mishap. An expert witness from the General Medical Council deemed the procedure performed by Dr Rahman as unprecedented and characterized his mistake as one of the worst possible.

Dr Rahman, who graduated from Ain Shams University in Cairo in 1993, did not appear at the hearing and did not have legal representation. He denied responsibility for the operation at the Royal Oldham Hospital in August 2020, claiming he was unfairly targeted and labeled a scapegoat.

The Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service had previously restricted Dr Rahman’s practice in July of the following year, but he disregarded the order by securing a locum position at Affidea Express Care Clinic in Ireland in February 2022. This breach, along with the significant errors in surgery and post-operative care, was considered aggravating by the tribunal.

Following a ruling last month, the tribunal concluded that Dr Rahman’s misconduct was so severe that it warranted erasure from the medical register, effectively prohibiting him from practicing as a doctor.