"Survivor of 'Breast Butcher' Ian Paterson Demands Justice for Hundreds of Women Who Lost Their Lives"

WRITHING in agony, her stomach feeling “ripped open” and with lymph nodes torn from her armpit, Deborah Douglas looked in the mirror and painfully recalls: “I didn’t recognise the woman staring back at me.”

The mum-of-three had woken up in a Birmingham hospital believing she had undergone life-saving surgery. In reality, she had become a victim of rogue surgeon Ian Paterson, who performed thousands of unnecessary mastectomies and now faces harrowing questions over the full, devastating consequences of his crimes.

Ian Paterson diagnosed her in 2003, but he was later sent to prison. Deborah is pictured nowCredit: Supplied Twisted surgeon Paterson received a 20-year sentence in 2017Credit: central news She was 45 with three kids when she was diagnosed and operated onCredit: UKTV Just some of Paterson’s hundreds of victims and their relatives outside court when he was sentencedCredit: PA

In 2003, Deborah, then 44, underwent a , a reconstruction on her left breast and lymph node removal after being told she had

Shockingly, she actually only needed a lumpectomy – a small tumour removal.

She was one of thousands of victims of Paterson, who was a consultant in the . He worked at the Heart of Foundation Trust as well as private hospitals at Spire Parkway and Spire Little Aston.

After years of complaints and hushed-up internal investigations, he was convicted of 17 counts of wounding with intent and three counts of unlawful wounding in 2017.

His crimes led to the biggest medical class action in British history, drawing comparisons to , the serial killing GP behind an estimated 250 murders. Now, Paterson’s victims fear he could be freed before it can be established whether he is culpable for any subsequent deaths of the women he treated on his table.

In total, the surgeon gave mastectomies to 1,206 women, and chillingly more than half, 675, have since died. This is significantly higher than the average mortality rate of breast cancer patients who have mastectomies – which is about 8.5 per cent.

And The Times reported that as many as 1,000 of Paterson’s private patients have died, though the cause of death is unknown. It said the deaths of at least 650 women treated by Paterson are being officially investigated by medical experts.

Paterson was sentenced to 20 years, but is due for release on parole in spring 2027, by which time he will have served just half of his time behind bars.

Deborah, now 67 and a grandmother-of-two, trusted the former doctor completely when he told her she needed a mastectomy and the removal of lymph nodes.

She told The Sun: “You can’t underestimate the psychological damage for victims and families if Paterson walks.”

“One of the witnesses to the court said, ‘I’m really frightened. He’s going to get out, he’s going to get me, he’s going to come after me.’ She has lost sleep over him.”

Paterson frequently carried out “cleavage-saving” surgeries, which meant he left more breast tissue than in a typical mastectomy, as he claimed this gave a more ‘aesthetically pleasing’ result.

But Deborah, who received one of these, said patients wanted peace of mind – and this technique can increase the risk that not all of the cancerous area is removed.

She is adamant that letting Paterson out of prison next year, after serving only a decade inside, would be “failing the victims” – including the 675 who have died after going under his knife.

Last year, she started a petition, which has gained more than 28,000 signatures, in the hopes of persuading Home Secretary to re-consider his early release.

A major investigation into the deaths of 65 people who had been under Paterson’s care is still ongoing, and Deborah says it would be completely inappropriate for the barbarous surgeon to be released before this is concluded.

‘People have lost loved ones’

Deborah and other victims fear authorities would not be able to get Paterson to attend ongoing proceedings if he was realesed from jail.

She told The Sun: “This is not justice.

‘You’ve got inquests into 65 deaths, which is rising to 67, you’ve got thousands of people who were affected in and the outer area by Paterson.”

She worries his release next year would send the wrong message to victims and their families.

“People have lost loved ones, and for the inquest not to be concluded at that stage when he’s going to be walking out the door, it says ‘we’ve already made up our minds, he can walk’.”

Deborah Douglas, 67, had a mastectomy and underwent chemotherapyCredit: UKTV Deborah has been at the forefront of the campaign against Paterson for over a decadeCredit: PA

Deborah is now the chair of Breast Friends Solihull, a group which she joined after her diagnosis.

After Paterson’s evil crimes were revealed, Deborah found solidarity and support with the other victims.

She has written about her horrific experience at Paterson’s hands and her tireless fight for justice in The Cost of Trust, which will be published later this month.

I screamed; my stomach felt like it had been ripped open. They had torn the stitches around my belly scar and left a hole about the size of a ten-pence piece in my stomach

Deborah Douglas , Victim of Ian Paterson

In one horrifying passage, Deborah detailed her immensely painful recovery after surgery in which she had a mastectomy, one set of lymph nodes ripped out under her armpit and stomach muscles removed, which were repurposed in her breast reconstruction.

She also reveals how her world came crumbling down when accusations against the surgeon she had regarded as her saviour began to become public.

‘My stomach felt like it had been ripped open’

It was then that she and other victims were forced to come to terms with the fact that they had been betrayed by the man they had trusted and even celebrated.

Later, Deborah learned from a specialist that her diagnosis meant she had only needed a lumpectomy.

This is a much less invasive procedure, which would have left much of her breast intact.

Instead, she was left with scarring that crossed her entire torso from her hips to her shoulder.

Paterson was Deborah’s consultant at a private Bupa hospital, later a Spire locationCredit: Alamy She has been supported throughout her illness and campaign by her husband BobCredit: Times Media Ltd An emotional Deborah and friend outside court when Paterson was convicted in 2017Credit: SWNS.com

To make matters even worse, when nurses moved her just hours after coming round, they pulled her sheet the wrong way.

“I screamed; my stomach felt like it had been ripped open. They had torn the stitches around my belly scar and left a hole about the size of a ten-pence piece in my stomach,” she recalled.

“Once I could get out of bed, I looked in the mirror at my body, trying to find positives among the swelling and scars… I didn’t recognise the woman staring back at me.”

I’m really worried about you, Mum, I’m sitting here worried about you

Deborah Douglas's daughter

Deborah’s extensive surgery was hard to recover from, as she then underwent months of chemotherapy at the direction of Paterson.

At the time, Deborah, a former aerospace supply-chain engineer, felt relieved she had got through a diagnosis which had initially terrified her, especially as both of her parents died of cancer.

After her experience with Paterson, Deborah said she now suffers from “trust issues”, having been betrayed by a figure she trusted.

Now, when even minor problems are “very anxiety-inducing” for her.

She says she is sure there are other doctors harming patients similar to PatersonCredit: SWNS:South West News Service As chair of Breast Friends Solihull, Deborah provides support to other womenCredit: Supplied

“Even just when you get aches and pains. In the middle of Covid, I got a lump on my left breast, and because my daughter also had cancer, she was worried.

“I was told it’s probably nothing to worry about. But my daughter had a few moments where she rang me, and she said, ‘I’m really worried about you, Mum, I’m sitting here worried about you’.”

The campaign against Paterson’s release comes as the UK has seen multiple doctors and surgeons accused of similar crimes to the butcher surgeon.

Protect patients from another Paterson

Deborah Douglas, Survivor of Ian Paterson

Just this month, Great Ormond Street Hospital apologised for the actions of , who harmed nearly 100 children in bungled orthopaedic surgeries between 2017 and 2022.

Deborah is certain there are other criminal doctors still operating; professionals who are harming their patients.

“I know there are other Patersons out there,” she says. “People seek me out to say they’ve been harmed.

“Surgeons that have used procedures that are not passed off, that are unethical, fitting parts of bits of metal work that aren’t approved. It’s happening. It’s happening now.”

After years dedicated to the fight for justice, Deborah now insists: “I want to move forward.”

“Part of me moving forward is saying, get the right processes in place. Get the right procedures in place. Protect patients from another Paterson.”

The Cost of Trust by Deborah Douglas with Tracy King will be published on February 12 by Mudlark (£20).

The Cost of Trust details Deborah’s experience and her fight for justiceCredit: HarperCollins