'I had to move to Taiwan after op left me in agony'

A man from the Isle of Man has said he had to move to Taiwan so he could get treatment for agonising pain he had been left in by a routine operation at Noble's Hospital.

Kevin Smith, 39, from Douglas, underwent surgery in 2019 for a small hernia that had previously caused him no discomfort.

He said the operation, which was ordered by a locum surgeon no longer working there, involved implanting surgical mesh that left him in "agony" and unable to stand for months.

Manx Care said it took "any concerns raised about care very seriously".

Kevin said: "I woke up from surgery in agonising pain… before the surgery I had no symptoms, no pain, no problems. Fast forward, I was waking up in agony and couldn't get up."

Kevin said that after the surgery, he was offered only pain relief and nerve blockers as his condition persisted, while other treatment options, including natural tissue repair, were never discussed.

Kevin added: "The surgeons were absolutely astonished when I explained what I'd had done at Noble's Hospital… the mesh had already ruined five years of my life."

After trying to access corrective surgery in the UK, Kevin said he was told it was not possible on the NHS, and private treatment was unaffordable.

Determined to find a solution, he turned to surgeons abroad and eventually secured treatment in Taiwan, where he found a surgeon who used a natural tissue technique for hernias.

To access Taiwan's national health system, Kevin took a teaching job that provided him with health insurance, allowing him to undergo the surgery.

He described the recovery as dramatically different from his experience on the Isle of Man.

After surgery at Noble's Hospital, he said he "was in bed for six weeks", but after the procedure in Taiwan "even two days after surgery" he was able to go "up and downstairs, and go and make myself food… I feel good".

But he also said he was angry "about all the things I've missed out on because I was left in that pain for so long".

"I've had to travel to the other side of the world. and do my own research, find my own doctors, fund it myself, the sacrifices I've had to make… I't going to take me years, financially, to recover from this journey".

He said the ordeal affected nearly every part of his life, from work to family.

"Little things like when my son was little, I couldn't pick him up. Carrying shopping from Tesco was impossible. I was basically living like an old man," he said.

Manx Care said it could not comment on individual cases due to patient confidentially, but that issues were "carefully reviewed through our clinical and complaints processes, including care provided by temporary or locum clinicians where relevant".

"These reviews focus on patient safety, understanding what happened and identifying any changes that can help improve our services," it added.

In a statement, the Department of Health and Social Care, said it played an "important role in the oversight of the complaints process" and ensured providers managed complaints appropriately.

It added that while it "does not consider individual complaints," patients can contact the Health and Social Care Ombudsman body if they were not satisfied with how their complaint was handled.

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