A doctor has denied bungling a cosmetic “designer vagina” operation at a Hoxton clinic so badly that he ended up performing the equivalent of female genital mutilation (FGM).
Dr Sureshkumar Pandya performed surgery at Hoxton’s Regency Clinic in March 2012 to reduce the size of his patient’s “excessively large” labia, which caused her discomfort when sat for a long time or when wearing tight clothes.
The patient was “distraught” by the results of the labiaplasty, but the medic had no reason to believe there was anything “unusual” until a complaint was made to the General Medical Council weeks later, a tribunal in Manchester heard this week.
Another medic referred her on the basis she felt “violated and butchered” and had been “railroaded” into surgery at the Nile Street clinic.
The GMC regulator alleges the “botched” procedure removed almost all of her vaginal lips and damaged the clitoris, with the anatomical result equivalent to FGM.
But the Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service panel was told they can only find the allegation proved if the doctor did the procedure intending to perform FGM.
Dr Pandya claimed on Tuesday that he carried out a perfectly proper procedure, which was clinically justified, and the woman had been damaged by scarring or further interference after the operation.
Asked if he had intended to perform FGM, he replied: “I am very much against it.
“I have never done it and I don’t think I would ever do it and I didn’t intend to perform it on this patient.”
He added: “Every time when a medical intervention is done by a doctor with all due care, vigilance and manual dexterity, one may still come across these events where the outcome of a procedure is something not expected and contrary, and I don’t think any doctor enjoys it.
“In spite of all care and vigilance and carrying out a standard procedure in a standard manner, there’s no time in a doctor’s life where he can say he never had an unpleasant event. It is most unfortunate and one feels sorry about it.”
Dr Pandya has conceded that his record-keeping failed to detail discussions with the patient, particularly in respect of the risks, but denies all other allegations, which if found proved could lead to him being struck off the medical register.
Though widely practised, cosmetic genital surgery has been criticised by experts who say it is risky and often unnecessary.
The tribunal hearing continues.
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