Brierfield man died after hip replacement op

An inquest heard Ernest Heavyside also had acute pancreatitis but this was not diagnosed until after his death.

Mary Heavyside told the inquest her husband had first undergone a hip replacement in 1982 after being involved in a road accident. That hip lasted over 30 years, more than double the expected “life” of a prosthetic hip, and was replaced in June, 2013. Mrs Heavyside said her husband. a retired Rolls-Royce polisher, failed to recover in the way he had done first time, which orthopedic surgeon Ian Lowrey said was entirely normal.

“The first one is always the best,” said Mr Lowrey. “In this case the patient was considerably older and not able to tolerate the surgery as well.”

Mrs Heavyside said she and her husband had checked into a hotel while a new bathroom was installed at their home in Broadhurst Way, Brierfield, in October, 2014.

Her husband became ill and was rushed to hospital by ambulance. He reported considerable pain from the hip area but an x-ray revealed the hip was not displaced. He left hospital but was back two days later when surgery revealed a considerable infection of the hip which was scrubbed and packed.

“What we didn’t know was that he was suffering from acute pancreatitis,” said Mr Lowrey.

Consultant pathologist Dr Mohammed Aslam said the cause of death was multi-organ failure due to acute pancreatitis and an infected right hip replacement site with congestive cardiac failure and diabetes contributing.

Mr Aslam said sometimes patients with diabetes had problems with nerve endings which could explain why Mr Heavyside identified the pain as coming from his hip.

Coroner Michael Singleton recorded a narrative verdict which reflected the events leading to Mr Heavyside’s death from multi-organ failure.