A retired surgeon being sued for alleged negligence told the High Court yesterday that he had moved quickly to "very neatly" perform chest surgery when he noted that an operation on a woman was moving out of control.
Mr Vincent Lynch, who was attached to St Vincent's Hospital and the Blackrock Clinic, Dublin, was giving evidence on his own behalf in an action in which Ms Christine Carroll, a hospital administrator, is suing him for damages.
Ms Carroll, of Brookfield Green, Dublin, claims that she was admitted to St Vincent's with a collapsed lung, that Mr Lynch carried out "keyhole surgery" on June 5th 1996, made an incorrect entry near her right nipple and punctured an artery, causing bleeding.
As a result, Mr Lynch had to carry out chest surgery to stop the bleeding and, since then, she had suffered pain on her right side, Ms Carroll alleges.
Mr Lynch, who denies the claims, is conducting his own defence. Yesterday, he told the court that Ms Carroll had a number of pre-existing complaints prior to the surgery.
He said he took over care of Ms Carroll on June 5th 1996 and gave a detailed account of the surgery he performed on June 6th. He said he had carried out a certain procedure to look for a possible defect in her diaphragm and he had to carry out that procedure through "a little bit of breast tissue".
He said he saw that the situation was "moving out of control" and he had quickly carried out thoracic surgery. "I think I did it very neatly", he said.
Cross-examined by Mr Denis McCullough SC, prosecuting, Mr Lynch said it was virtually impossible to carry out the procedure he had carried out without going through breast tissue.
The case continues next Tuesday.