Surgeon said I needed an amputation - but I didn't
BBCA woman was told by a surgeon who is now under investigation she might need to have her hand amputated - before another doctor told her it was not necessary.
Georgia Spargo met hand specialist Leslie Irwin, who worked in Sunderland for the NHS and private provider Spire Healthcare, when she was 14 and he went on to do five operations on her.
Irwin is now the subject of a patient recall notice after concerns about him were raised by patients, and medical negligence lawyers said an "unprecedented" number of patients were also now approaching them.
Georgia, 28, said the surgeries had left her unable to use her hand at all and "in extreme pain". The BBC has approached Irwin for comment.
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Georgia was referred to Irwin at the Sunderland Royal in 2012 with pain in her right wrist, caused by Ehlers-Danlos syndrome (EDS), a rare inherited condition that affects connective tissue.
She said he was "the most lovely man" who had a big smile on his face every time she saw him.
'Extremely painful surgeries'
Georgia said she was experiencing pain writing and typing at school, which was painful, but "manageable".
Irwin decided to operate to tighten her tendons. After surgery, Georgia said her pain was much worse.
"I know now that any surgery with EDS can cause more pain," she said.
At her next appointment, Irwin told her the pain was because she had Kienböck’s disease - a rare condition which cuts off blood supply to the bone - but he could operate.
The NHS advises conservative management to treat Kienböck's disease, as operations can be risky.
Georgia said "it was the start of extremely painful surgeries" which saw Irwin move the bone and the blood vessel.
Over the next 10 years she underwent four moreoperations by Irwin including removing bones, wrist fusion surgery and the insertion and removal of metal work.
SuppliedGeorgia said Irwin told her "he would never do any operation on me that was less than 75% chance of success".
"That was a lot of hope," she said, "when you are in that much pain".
But in 2021, Irwin dropped "a bombshell".
"He just put his hand on top of mine, looked into my eyes and just went...you need to think about an amputation and how that would benefit you.
"Get rid of the hand, get rid of the problem and you are not going to have that wrist pain. I was terrified."
However, when Irwin retired in 2022, Georgia's new surgeon told her there was "no reason whatsoever for you to have an amputation".
She said she now lived in constant agony and wished she had not had any surgery.
"It has just stopped so much of my life – it really has."
SuppliedIrwin specialised in hand and arm surgery and worked at Sunderland Royal Hospital, run by the South Tyneside and Sunderland NHS Foundation Trust, from 1999 until he retired in 2022.
He worked at the private Spire Washington Hospital between 2001 and 2023 - until he was suspended in 2023 - and saw both private and NHS patients referred to him.
Spire Healthcare withdrew Irwin's practising privileges in September 2024.
It began investigating procedures he had undertaken in 2025 and has now issued a patient recall notice, which sees it invite patients back to review their care.
A spokesperson said Spire was "reviewing specific procedures that were provided to a select cohort of patients of Mr Leslie Irwin".
"We are in direct contact with this cohort of patients to review their care and offer support at what we recognise is a concerning time."
South Tyneside and Sunderland NHS Foundation Trust said it had "liaised with Spire to understand the scale of their patient recall and to help inform our next steps".
"We are currently working through the detail of which patients we may need to review and will contact those people directly and as a matter of priority."
The Care Quality Commission is also investigating and their inspection report of the Spire Hospital is imminent.
The General Medical Council said Irwin deregistered himself last year. Northumbria Police said it was not involved in any investigations.
A number of legal firms are now representing Irwin's former patients.
Solicitor John Lowther, from Slater and Gordon Lawyers, said: "There is a very significant number of cases coming forward and that is unprecedented in my career.
"There are people who've complained about having 20 or 30 surgeries.
"What I can say is we've got medical experts who are saying large numbers of procedures were avoidable. What we are seeing right now is terribly, desperately concerning."
