Rogue surgeon Ian Paterson jailed for 15 years for butchering patients

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Ian Paterson has been jailed for 15 years after butchering patients

Paterson caused unimaginable anxiety to his victims.

With a stellar CV and an excellent bedside manner, he would routinely be sought out by concerned women across the Midlands.

But the man described as “like God” by one, lied to his patients, exaggerating or inventing the risk of cancer to convince them to go under his knife.

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Prosecutors still do not know what drove him to cause so much anxiety to so many, describing his motives as “obscure”.

But his crimes certainly enriched both his bank account and his reputation.

His trial at Nottingham Crown Court heard from victims who had scraped together money from savings, friends and family to foot the bills for procedures they ultimately did not need.

One, 36-year-old Leanne Joseph, immediately went to her parents to raise the £1,500 for an operation after being deceived into believing scans had revealed pre-cancerous cells.

She was largely penniless, having recently tied the knot with husband Mark and renovated her marital home when confronted with the supposed health scare in 2006.

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He created or exaggerated the risk of cancer to persuade his patients to get surgery

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The surgeon’s motives for his crimes were described as obscure

As the trial delved into intricate medical details about scans and procedures carried out over his career, Paterson was allowed to sit outside the dock, flanked by his daughter Emily rather than court security staff.

Paterson, 59, was seen taking notes on an iPad, nodding along to witnesses and even laughing at a joke about his handwriting as his career between 1997 and 2011 was put under forensic examination by the court.

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Victim Frances Perks arrives at court before sentencing

Jurors were told at the start that Paterson was a busy surgeon who “instilled complete confidence in his patients”, with prosecutor Julian Christopher QC adding: “He was extremely experienced and knowledgeable in his field, which makes what happened in this case all the more extraordinary and outrageous.”

As jurors convicted him of 20 counts of wounding after a seven-week trial last month, it would appear they agreed.