Woman left disabled when surgeon 'experimented' on her says she was his 'guinea pig'
A woman had to put her dreams of becoming a police officer on hold after one of Scotland’s ‘top’ surgeons reportedly started 'experimenting' on her.
When Leann Sutherland, 33, was younger, she suffered from chronic migraines that would affect her daily life.
Aged 21, Sutherland says she was offered a corrective operation by Professor Sam Eljamel.
He reportedly told her that the surgery had a 60 percent of improving her condition and that she could return home after a few days.
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In theatre, Eljamel, the former head of neurosurgery at NHS Tayside, removed a small part of Sutherland’s skull to relieve pressure.
It’s then alleged he unsuccessfully sealed up the wound with a 'new glue'.
The 33-year-old soon realised that the surgery was an 'experiment' and the now-disgraced surgeon had used her like a 'guinea pig'.
She told the BBC that after she had gone under the knife, the wound 'burst open' and that 'brain fluid' had started to trickle down her neck.
It’s claimed that when she went to the bathroom, she collapsed.
Instead of the handful of days that she was promised, Sutherland ended up staying in the hospital for months.
While undergoing a reported six more surgeries, Sutherland contracted meningitis and had four spinal taps.
Despite apparently raising red flags to other NHS staff about the doctor, the woman was told that Eljamel had 'saved her life'.
In an emotional interview, she said: “Experimenting on me - that's what he was doing.
"There can't be any other reason to try a glue, try different shunts, that's experimenting. I was his guinea pig.”
Elsewhere, in the interview, the 33-year-old claimed that he was 'playing God' with her body and criticised the NHS for handing him 'the scalpel seven times'.
NHS Tayside claims concerns against the surgeon were only raised in June 2013, after Sutherland's surgery.
Eljamel was suspended in 2013 and reportedly went to work in Libya. The Scottish government is conducting an independent review of his patients' cases.
Sutherland now lives in constant pain and has to have a 'shunt' - a tube which controls her spinal fluid.
Speaking about her life after surgery, she said 'everything is changed'.
She said: “My dream was to be a police officer and that will never happen.
"I struggle with that, not being able to have the career you want, not being able to have the lifestyle you want, not being able to have children.
"A lot of things have been taken away through no fault of my own."
A spokeswoman for NHS Tayside told the BBC: “NHS Tayside would work with Scottish government regarding the next steps to support individual patients through a process independent of both the health board and government.”
The representative stated that the board remains 'committed to do whatever is required' to support the investigation and that 'patient confidentiality' forbids them from commenting on any 'individual patients and their treatments'.
NHS Tayside declined to comment further when approached by LADbible.
Ella Scott