A SENIOR surgeon has said that controversial disposable instruments played an important role in a young woman's unexpected death.

Frank Martin, consultant ear, nose and throat surgeon, told a Middlesbrough inquest into the death of 33-year-old Elaine Basham, from Loftus, east Cleveland, that electric diathermy forceps used in supposedly routine surgery had contributed to her death.

Mr Martin was the surgeon in charge of a team of doctors at the former North Riding Infirmary (NRI), in Middlesbrough, who removed Miss Basham's tonsils and adenoids on November 5, 2001.

During surgery, disposable diathermy forceps were used to stop bleeding.

Although the operation appeared to be a success, within hours Miss Basham began to haemorrhage.

As doctors and nurses fought to stop the bleeding, Mr Martin tried using diathermy forceps but found they were malfunctioning.

Despite the efforts of a medical team, Miss Basham suffered three heart attacks that night, dying ten days later of multiple organ failure.

Mr Martin said: "I personally think that the diatheramy forceps bore a significant amount of responsibility for what happened to Elaine."

He said all of the ear, nose and throat (ENT) surgeons at the NRI "expressed dissatisfaction with the diathermy equipment," at a meeting convened after Miss Basham's death.

Earlier in the inquest, Professor Pat Troop, formerly deputy chief medical officer, explained how she ordered ENT surgeons to switch to disposable instruments because of fears that re-usable instruments could spread vCJD.

After Miss Basham's death and because of improvements in hospital decontamination services, surgeons were told to revert to traditional instruments.

Mr Martin said a survey at the NRI showed that during 2001, when disposable instruments were brought in, the percentage of patients readmitted to theatre because of haemorrhaging more than doubled, increasing from 0.55 per cent in 2000 to 1.4 per cent in 2001.

The inquest continues.