Dr Yaser Jabbar: Mother says daughter, 11, had to use wheelchair after procedure with surgeon accused of ‘inappropriate’ operations
The mother of a young girl treated by a surgeon accused of carrying out “inappropriate and unnecessary” operations has told Sky News her daughter had to use a wheelchair for nearly two years after surgery.
Great Ormond Street Hospital (GOSH) has launched an investigation into the cases of 721 children after an expert review found Dr Yaser Jabbar was alleged to have caused “serious harm” through “unacceptable” treatment, according to a lawyer acting for families of some of the young patients.
Now Claire Osborne, whose daughter Ella underwent corrective surgery on her leg by Dr Jabber in the summer of 2020, has called on a 2023 expert report by the Royal College of Surgeons to be made public.
Dr Yasser Jabbar. Pic: Linkedin
It comes as Duabi’s CMC Hospital – where Dr Jabbar has recently worked – confirmed it had suspended the surgeon.
Ella was 11 years old when she had the operation under Dr Jabbar after she developed a condition called genu valgum, in which the knees tilt inward while the ankles remain apart. She also has multiple complex needs.
She had already undergone the same corrective procedure with a different doctor, but her recovery after the second operation was more painful and took longer.
Ella had a second corrective surgery on her leg in 2020 under Dr Jabbar
“She just kept saying to me all the time, ‘Mum, it hurts, it hurts’. And the way she was walking was so strange. It was like her knees were overlapping and they were clicking for every step she took,” Ms Osborne said.
“At one point she would do 10 miles on the bike and it got to the point where she couldn’t even walk around a supermarket with me.”
Ella was also forced to rely on a wheelchair during this time, and Ms Osborne and her husband could also feel a screw from a plate inserted in Ella’s leg through her skin.
“Ella was just so miserable. She was in pain. You can feel it as a parent – you know how a child is normally and you know when there’s something wrong.”
Read more: Children left in pain by surgeon’s ‘inappropriate and unnecessary’ operations
Ms Osborne says she consistently raised concerns about her daughter’s recovery, with Dr Jabbar telling her in a follow-up appointment: “If I’m not worried, you shouldn’t be worried.”
After consulting a private surgeon, Ms Osborne asked for a second opinion, and soon after Ella had a third corrective surgery by another doctor at Great Ormond Street.
Ms Osborne said that the surgeon “called it a miraculous correction”.
“What she did, the angle at which she corrected Ella’s leg, was huge.”
Ella and her mother Claire, who said she was ‘frustrated’ by not knowing what was in the expert review
Now, Ms Osborne is calling for a 2023 Royal College of Surgeons review – conducted before the review in which Ella’s initial operation was one of 721 cases examined – to be made public.
“Without knowing facts, without knowing what, why, where, when you’re still kind of in limbo. Because this report’s out there. You know, it says things, but you don’t know what,” she said.
“It’s frustrating because obviously if the hospital had known that things were going on prior to Ella being treated, maybe Ella could have been saved.
“Without knowing what the hospital knew from the report, we’ll never know.”
Ella is one of 721 patients reviewed by the Royal College of Surgeons
Of the 42 cases looked at as part of the GOSH probe so far, 22 children are believed to have come to harm as a result of operations Dr Jabbar carried out.
Ms Osborne has now set up a support group for other families who have been affected.
Amy Kirk, an associate at Fletchers Solicitors – a firm that is representing some of the families involved – said: “It’s really important the review is given to the families in full as they are already not feeling heard [and that] the report is released in a timely fashion and that a full investigation is done.
A spokesperson for Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children said: “We know that the patients and families affected will be extremely distressed by the issues raised by the review we commissioned into our orthopedic service.
“This is not what they should expect from any service at our hospital. To all of them we wish to say we are deeply sorry.
“As we complete case reviews, the outcomes of these will be shared with the patient and their family, regardless of whether harm has been found or not.
“As we have said previously, we will share a summary of the report in our public board, but we will be sharing it first with our families.”
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Dr Jabbar, who qualified from St George’s Hospital Medical School in London, was registered with a licence to practise until January of this year, according to the General Medical Council website.
GOSH said he had not worked there since 2022. The Sunday Times reported he only stepped down from his role last September after an 11-month sabbatical on full pay.
Two pro-Palestinian demonstrators have thrown red powder on Tower Bridge – just moments before leading runners in the London Marathon went past.
The protesters were arrested on suspicion of causing a public nuisance and remain in custody, said the Metropolitan Police.
A video shared by Youth Demand, which is calling for a trade embargo on Israel, shows two people jumping over a barrier that separates spectators from the race course.
The pair, wearing t-shirts that say “Youth Demand: Stop Arming Israel”, are then seen standing in the middle of the road on the bridge.
Pic: LNP
They throw red powder in the air as an official marathon car goes past displaying the race time.
A motorbike with a cameraman on board continues along the route, while a second motorbike stops and one of the riders gets off and pushes the pair out of the way, just before the men’s elite runners pass.
Several police officers then jump over the barrier and detain the pair, the footage shows.
There appeared to be no impact on the marathon.
More than 56,000 participants were expected to take part in the 26.2-mile race through the capital.
Sabastian Sawe of Kenya won the men’s elite race in a time of two hours, two minutes and 27 seconds, while Ethiopia’s Tigst Assefa shattered the women’s-only world record in two hours, 15 minutes and 50 seconds.
Assefa beat the previous best of two hours, 16 minutes and 16 seconds set last year in London by Kenyan Peres Jepchirchir.
Read more:
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Pic: LNP
The Metropolitan Police said in a statement: “At around 10.38am, two protesters from Youth Demand jumped over barriers at Tower Bridge and threw red paint on to the road.
“Marathon event staff intervened to remove the protesters from the path of the men’s elite race which was able to pass unobstructed.”
The force added that they were “quickly supported by police officers who arrested the protesters on suspicion of causing a public nuisance”.
The Met said the paint “appeared to be chalk-based” and was not expected to “present a hazard to runners yet to pass this point”.
Counter-terrorism police are investigating after an incident involving a crossbow and a firearm left two women injured in Leeds.
Police were called to Otley Road at 2.47pm on Saturday to reports of a “serious incident involving a man seen with weapons”, West Yorkshire Police said.
Officers arrived at the scene to find two women injured – and a 38-year-old man with a self-inflicted injury. All three were taken to hospital, with the man held under arrest, but their injuries are not believed to be life-threatening.
“Two weapons have been recovered from the scene, which were a crossbow and a firearm,” Counter Terrorism Policing North East said in a statement.
The incident happened on the ‘Otley Run’ pub crawl, with one venue saying it was closed for the evening due to “unforeseen circumstances”.
Officers guard one of the crime scenes
Officers inside the cordon in Leeds
Counter Terrorism Policing’s statement added: “Due to the circumstances surrounding the incident, Counter Terrorism Policing North East have taken responsibility for leading the investigation with the support of West Yorkshire Police.
“Extensive enquiries continue to establish the full circumstances and explore any potential motivation.”
Home Secretary Yvette Cooper described it as a “serious violent incident” and said she was being kept updated by police.
“Thank you to the police and emergency services for their swift response,” she said. “My thoughts are with the victims and all those affected by this attack.”
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