When one of Scotland's top surgeons proposed to operate, Leann Sutherland was 21 and experiencing frequent migraines.
She was informed that she would require a few days in the hospital and had a 60% chance of recovering. Instead, Sam Eljamel operated on her seven times while she was in the hospital for months.
According to the BBC, her surgeon—the former head of neurosurgery at NHS Tayside—was endangering and endangering patients for years, but the health board allowed him to carry on regardless.
NHS Tayside has consistently maintained that it only became aware of the issues in June 2013 and that it was only then that they placed the patient under supervision. However, an NHS whistleblower has told the BBC that the health board was aware of the serious issues as early as 2009.
Three surgeons who assisted Mr. Eljamel at Tayside have spoken to BBC Scotland. All three agreed that he was a bully who was permitted to hurt patients without consequence.
All three claimed that there was a lack of accountability in the department and that Mr. Eljamel was permitted to act in a "god-like" manner, partially as a result of the research funding he brought to the organization.
The health board informed the BBC that it was collaborating with the Scottish government to support an impartial review of the treatment patients received under Mr. Eljamel and that it was unable to comment on specific cases.
Prior to her surgery in 2011, Leann used to work full-time and enjoy trips abroad with friends, but migraines ruined her life.
She was told she could get help from Mr. Eljamel, who is thought to be Scotland's top neurosurgeon.
She was informed that she would undergo one procedure and return home in a short period of time.
A small portion of her skull would be removed in order to release the pressure, and he promised to use a fresh glue to close the wound.
It did not properly seal, and it burst, Leann told the BBC.
My neck's back was covered in brain fluid as the wound burst open. ".
The following day, according to her, her spinal fluid was "soaked" into her hospital bed.
She collapsed after standing up to use the restroom and reported that fluid had spilled all over the floor. A nurse posted a warning sign about wet floors there.
Leann claims that her mother had to chase Mr. Eljamel down a hallway to get him to examine her, after which she was hurried back into surgery.
Leann was hospitalized for months. She became infected with meningitis and got hydrocephalus. Her medical records specifically state that she shouldn't have had four lumbar punctures, but Mr. Eljamel ordered them nonetheless.
Now that he is aware, Leann realizes that he used the glue during a research study.
She claims that he was performing experiments on her.
"Trying a glue and various shunts must be done for no other reason than experimentation.
His test subject was me. " .
He had unfettered access to my body, she continues. The NHS gave him the scalpel seven times while he was playing god with my body. ".
Leann was informed that Mr. Eljamel had saved her life when she attempted to voice her concerns to staff. She was not told that he was under investigation, nor that he had been later forced to step down.
She didn't realize she was not alone until she watched recent BBC coverage.
Currently 33 years old, Leann. She is in pain all the time. She is unable to walk without crutches and has a tube called a shunt running through her body to control her spinal fluid.
She says, "Everything is different. "Being a police officer was my childhood ambition, but that will never happen.
"I find that difficult, not being able to have the career you want, the lifestyle you want, or the ability to have kids.
Without my fault, a lot of things have been taken away. ".
Leann is one of the 99 patients requesting a public investigation to determine the precise harm caused by Mr. Eljamel.
Although the harm done to her and other patients is irreparable, she wants to make sure that the health board is held responsible and that no other surgeon can harm patients in the same way.
She claims that after reading a BBC Scotland report, she learned that he had injured patients.
She claims, "I thought it was just me; I had no idea there were 99 other people.".
"I don't know how he was able to wash the blood from his hands and go home. ".
Following internal and external reviews in 2013, NHS Tayside suspended Mr. Eljamel, who then left to work in Libya.
Three of Mr. Eljamel's coworkers have spoken to the BBC for the first time.
Mark, who goes by an alias because he doesn't want people to find out who he really is, claims that he is speaking out right now because he worries that the health board has not yet internalized the lessons from the past.
He claims that despite raising concerns at the time, he was ignored.
"A part of me feels guilty because I could have done more, but I was too young.
"They predicted that we would never land a traineeship. ".
Eljamel was regularly performing private work while he was supposed to be operating on patients, according to him, and nurses, senior surgeons, and managers were aware of this at least as early as 2009.
According to Mark, Mr. Eljamel regularly let young surgeons perform operations on their own.
"It is negligent to allow a junior to operate while you are not even in the building," he asserts.
In Dundee, NHS Tayside has long covered up incidents like this.
It reached the board in its entirety. Everyone was aware of it. ".
Mark recalls once being in the operating room to watch the junior surgeon operate on Mr. Eljamel's patient when the junior surgeon unintentionally severed the spinal cord.
The spinal fluid, according to him, was "pouring out," and he and another surgeon were sent scurrying to find a more experienced surgeon. The patient was left with a lifelong disability.
What harm has been done to these patients by this renowned neurosurgeon, he asks. "I imagine significant harm. There are times when things are covered up, so this needs to be done again.
"Drawing a line in the sand is simple to say, but it won't cause the culture to change. To protect the patients, the culture needs to be changed first. " .
According to the three surgeons, Mr. Eljamel discouraged the use of X-rays because he was so conceited and because it allowed him to save money.
It is believed that this led him to operate on at least 70 patients' spines in the incorrect location, rendering many of them permanently disabled.
One of the reasons Mr. Eljamel was regarded as "untouchable," according to Mark, was the amount of money he brought into the department through research projects that many of them deemed "odd and even questionable.".
According to a NHS Tayside spokesperson, the cabinet secretary and local Tayside MSPs met with the medical director and chief executive of NHS Tayside in April to discuss the ongoing concerns of Professor Eljamel's patients.
The next steps to support specific patients through a procedure independent of the health board and government will be discussed between NHS Tayside and the Scottish government, it was decided at the meeting.
"NHS Tayside continues to be dedicated to doing whatever is necessary to support the independent process, acknowledging that it will be customized to the circumstances of individual patients.
"While we are unable to discuss specific patients or their care because of patient confidentiality, we would like to invite Ms. Sutherland to get in touch with NHS Tayside's Patient Liaison Response Team.
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