My surgeon experimented on me and ruined my life

Leann Sutherland was 21 and suffering from chronic migraines when one of Scotland's top surgeons offered to operate.

She was told she would be in hospital for a few days and had a 60% chance of improvement. Instead she was in for months while Sam Eljamel operated on her seven times.

"He had free rein on my body. He was playing god with my body and the NHS handed him the scalpel, seven times," says Leann.

When Leann tried to raise concerns with staff she was told that Mr Eljamel had saved her life. She was not told that he was under investigation, nor that he had been later forced to step down.

It was only after seeing recent BBC coverage she realised she was not alone.

The BBC can reveal her surgeon - the former head of neurosurgery at NHS Tayside - was harming patients and putting them at risk for years but the health board let him carry on regardless.

BBC Scotland has spoken to three surgeons who worked under Mr Eljamel at Tayside. All three said he was a bully who was allowed to get away with harming patients.

All three said there was a lack of accountability in the department and that Mr Eljamel was allowed to behave as if he were a "god" - partly because of the research funding he brought to the department.

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Source: BBC News, 16 June 2023