AN ELDERLY woman died following a bungled pacemaker operation at Queen Elizabeth Hospital, an inquest heard.

Southwark Coroner's Court heard how Doris Merridan, 84, of Alabama Street, Plumstead, died when her lung was accidentally punctured during the operation.

But the coroner recorded a verdict of misadventure because the surgeon explained there were no warning signs something had gone wrong.

The court heard Mrs Merridan was taken to the Woolwich Hospital on August 12, suffering from giddy turns due to low blood pressure and a slow heart beat.

Surgeon Nikolaos Fragakis, who has fitted 300 pacemakers, had told the pensioner he was going to fit the device to give her a better quality of life.

But when he was fitting the pacemaker wire to jolt the woman's heart muscle into beating, he accidentally passed it through her lung which then filled with blood.

Later Mrs Merridan became breathless and kept smashing her head up and down. Doctors tried to drain her lung of blood but she deteriorated rapidly and died.

Consultant cardiologist Dr Carl Shakespeare explained there is always a risk when fitting a pacemaker.

But he said normally a doctor would know if he had accidentally punctured the lung because there would have been a rush of air coming up the hollow needle.

"The warning signs after fitting a pacemaker were not present in the usual way."

Dr Fragakis said: "To my view, I did nothing wrong. I'm sorry about the result."

Coroner Dr Adela Williams said: "Doctors were not alerted as there were no symptoms initially.

"Obviously, it is a difficult thing for family members to understand why this terrible thing occurred to Mrs Merridan who led a very full and active life.

"We have heard from the doctors. This is unusual and inexplicable and a circumstance nobody had come across before."

November 20, 2001 13:03