THE last thing Natasha Japhet expected going into a gallbladder operation was to wake up midway through.
But wake up she did. The mum-of-four tried to alert doctors that she’d come to but, to her horror, no words came out of her mouth.
Media WalesNatasha Japhet, 33, claims she “woke up” during a gall bladder operation “paralysed and screaming in my head”[/caption]
Media WalesThe mum claims she felt everything doctors were doing and is now scared to fall asleep[/caption]
The 33-year-old chef and mum from Llanaelhaearn in Gwynedd, Wales, went to get her gallbladder removed on September 19.
She claims to have woken up on the operating table midway through the procedure.
Natasha told North Wales Live: “All I remember was I woke up during the operation. I was aware and I heard voices around me asking for the camera. I felt like I couldn’t breathe.
“I was screaming in my head but I was paralysed because I couldn’t move. But I couldn’t tell them.”
Natasha claims to have felt everything her surgeons were doing, saying she ‘passed out’ from the pain of having two rods inserted into her stomach.
The mum said doctors became aware something was amiss when she woke up again a little later.
“There were voices around me and then I heard ‘Oh my God – she’s awake. Do something’,” she claimed.
“I think they must have done something then to put me back to sleep properly this time. And when I did come round in recovery, the anaesthetist started questioning me straight away.”
Natasha was asked about what she remembered while being under anaesthesia, she told North Wales Live.
After recounting her harrowing experience, the mum was asked to give a statement to medical staff.
Natasha is now recovering from her operation at home.
She said her friends and family were shocked and angry hearing about her ordeal, saying it ‘should never have happened’ and urging her to submit a complaint.
North Wales Live reported that officials from Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board – who overseas the Ysbyty Gwynedd hospital where the operation took place – will meet with Natasha and her family this week to discuss her complaint.
Dr Nick Lyons, BCUHB’s executive medical director, told Sun Health: “We are extremely sorry to hear of this patient’s experience. It is not what we would wish for anyone using our services.
“This is now being investigated, so we can fully understand what happened, and the patient will be fully involved in the process.
“We would urge anyone who receives care below the standard they would expect to contact our Patient Advice and Liaison Service (PALS), in the first instance,” Dr Lyons added.
He provided the PALS team contact details, who can be reached via phone or email at 03000 851234 [email protected].
The mum – who is on maternity leave after the birth of her fourth child – has come away from her experience with more than the scars of her operation.
She said: “I feel a little bit traumatised. I haven’t been able to sleep. Every time I fall asleep I feel like I can’t breathe again.”
Adele Gittoes, interim executive director at the health board, told the outlet: “We would urge Ms Japheth to contact us directly to discuss her concerns.”