Breast surgery may have been unnecessary

SOME patients attending Barringtons Hospital in Limerick may have had unnecessary breast surgery because of shortcomings in its breast care services, a review has found.

The independent review of breast care services at Barringtons reviewed patient care between September 2003 and August 2007. It found the service suffered due to the lack of a multidisciplinary cancer care team, the absence of on-site pathology expertise and the non-availability of essential diagnostic technology such as image-guided biopsy.

“In a number of patients, the lack of effective triple assessment prior to surgery may have lead to unnecessary surgical intervention with its associated risks,” the review team found.