A former personal trainer says she is no longer able to walk unaided or work following NHS operations on her back.
Lynsey McDonald, from Shipston-on-Stour, Warwickshire, has been left with an open wound following the surgery, which stemmed from a herniated disc problem seven years ago.
One of her procedures left her with metalwork inside that was too big for her spine, and she says she has suffered constant infections. Now, having been discharged by the spinal team, McDonald feels “discarded”.
Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, which carried out the spinal surgery, said it was sorry to hear about the patient’s difficulties and encouraged her to get in touch to discuss her care.
The single mum, who previously taught at Daylesford and Soho House in Oxfordshire, was referred for surgery on 5 March after a procedure to fix the herniated disc left her with constant pain in her legs.
She underwent the TLIF (Transforaminal lumbar interbody fusion) procedure at Nuffield Orthopaedic Centre in Oxford to take the damaged disc out and insert screws and a cage.
But it did not go as planned, with “sub-optimal placement of the cage”, according to an NHS letter the BBC has seen, which led to a second operation to fit a different cage six days later.
“It just didn’t fit,” she said.