Questions surround death of Blackpool cancer patient, 78, amid perforation during procedure

A coroner wants to check a key point with a specialist pathologist before deciding whether or not to hold an inquest into the death of a 78-year-old woman at Blackpool Victoria Hospital.

Margaret Champion died there in January, several days after undergoing an operation to have a stent fitted to remove an obstruction of her oesophagus caused by the oesophageal cancer from which she was suffering.

An independent pathologist ruled that her cause of death was peritonitis due to an oesophageal perforation resulting from the procedure.

Such a perforation was said to be a known risk of the procedure, but at a pre-inquest review at Blackpool Town Hall, Mrs Champion’s husband raised the fact that he had seen his wife suffer when appeared to be a brief fit or seizure just hours after the operation.

He wondered if that might have been an early warning of the problem with the stent and that medical intervention then might have helped her situation.

He accepted that the stent had been fitted as a palliative measure and he and Margaret knew her condition was terminal but he said she had suffered similar episodes while undergoing cancer treatment some years before and he queried whether intervention then might have given her more time.

As it was, her conditions deteriorated and she died on January 28.

Mr Wilson said, while the the independent pathology report had highlighted that perforation was a common risk of the stent operation, he would ask the pathologist about any significance of the ‘fit’.

He would also seek clarification on that along with Mrs Champion’s post-op treatment from the hospital.

“Once I have that information, I will make a decision on whether to proceed with an inquest,” said Mr Wilson.

He said a provisional date of July 30 would be kept in the diary for now.