Sam Lewis, a mum of 3 from Bournemouth, had to spend 6 months in intensive care after the removal of half of her pancreas. Doctors had said, when she first became ill, that her symptoms were due to long Covid but she in fact was suffering from a life-threatening condition.  

This developed due to Sam suffering from undiagnosed and untreated gallstones; although gallstones are generally treatable and do not result in significant health problems, in Sam’s case, a gallstone was blocking her bile duct, which connects some of the organs in the digestive system.  

Sam developed pancreatitis; this happens as the gallstone stops enzymes from the pancreas traveling to where they are supposed to in the small intestine and being forced back to the pancreas. The pancreas is a small organ behind the stomach which help with digestion. Due to the blockage, Sam’s pancreas became extremely inflamed and caused significant pain

Sam’s pancreatitis was particularly severe and she developed pancreatic necrosis. This is extremely serious, requiring urgent treatment and it can be fatal. Pancreatic necrosis happens when the pancreas loses its blood supply and the tissue of the pancreas dies. Once this happens, the pancreas can become infected and this infection can spread into the blood and cause organ failure.   

In Sam’s case, her family was told to prepare for the worst as the infection ravaged her body, causing it to significantly swell. Although she pulled through, Sam was dealt a cruel blow when, after 2 months in Bournemouth Hospital, she developed sepsis and had to be rushed to Southampton Hospital, where she was put into an induced coma. Sam then underwent an operation to remove the dead tissue and half of her pancreas. 

She faced a lengthy recovery, where she had to learn to do tasks such as walking all over again. After 6 months in hospital, Sam was eventually discharged but she has been left with life changing symptoms. She now has chronic pancreatitis, as her remaining pancreas has been left permanently damaged from the inflammation. This means that she now has to stick to a low fat and carb diet to avoid flare ups of the pancreatitis. 

Sam is incredibly fortunate to have made it through her battle with pancreatitis; she has witnessed first-hand how serious the condition can be and the devastating consequences that can follow. If there are delays in diagnosis of conditions such as Sam’s, it can result in life changing injuries that would have been avoided with appropriate care.  

We have experience of dealing with claims concerning gallstones and pancreatitis. In a strikingly similar case, we recently settled a claim where, due to delay in diagnosis of gallstones, a client developed acute pancreatitis, resulting in her requiring a stoma. This caused significant physical and psychological consequences. For more details of this case story, please follow this link. 

If you or a loved one have suffered pancreatitis, whether due to gallstones or an alternative cause, and feel that the care received may not have been good enough and has resulted in harm being suffered, please contact our Medical Negligence team to discuss how we can help.