The family of a boy from Hertfordshire who was harmed by a disgraced Great Ormond Street Hospital surgeon has said he still has nightmares and will be affected for the rest of his life.
12-year-old Vivaan Sharma was just seven when surgeon Yaser Jabbar decided to carry out leg lengthening surgery on him.
Born with a shortened and bowed right leg, his family were told this would lead to a leg length difference of around 9cm if it was not corrected.
A report from Great Ormond Street Hospital published yesterday (January 29) detailed the harm caused by Mr Jabbar to 94 children in his care, with Vivaan among them.
His parents, Viresh and Namarata, said that after Mr Jabbar carried out surgery in July 2021, they were shocked to find he had used a different frame to the one they expected that is commonly used for such procedures.
An independent review found Vivaan's issue was too complex to resolve in a single procedure and that the surgery was "incorrect and unsuitable"
It also stated that the 12-year-old suffered "moderate harm" but this is disputed by his parents.
Mr Sharma said: "The review has said that Vivaan has suffered moderate harm, and we think that's nonsense, as it has affected his treatment and independence way beyond six months, which is how they class moderate harm in their review.
"These independent experts have never spoken to Vivaan. They've not seen what we have seen, him waking up having nightmares about having more operations or needing to have another frame on his leg.
"If they had reached out to Vivaan, they would see what he has been through and how he is today. They wouldn’t have said he was moderately harmed then. Even today, after many operations, he walks with a limp. It impacts his self-confidence.
“He was just seven when he underwent surgery, which has now been found to have been completely unsuitable, with independent experts finding no justification for why he was subjected to it.
"We're talking about a boy who has been around hospitals all his life and has been badly let down. It's appalling. Our boy will be affected for life."
Vivaan has since undergone further corrective surgery under other surgeons at the hospital.
The review panel criticised Mr Jabbar's record-keeping and documentation, assessment, examination and diagnosis, decision-making and case selection and said he his actions caused "both physical and psychological harm" to Vivaan.
Mr Sharma believes he and his wife were among the first to raise concerns about Mr Jabbar following the 2021 surgery, and they say the hospital did not act quickly enough to address the errors in his work.
"In all of our meetings prior to Vivaan's surgery, we were told a certain type of frame would be used to help rotation and lengthening, but when the procedure was done, a completely different frame was used. We were never told why, but it seemed strange," he said.
"We feared immediately that something was wrong, as when the swelling went down, we noticed a hard bump on the side of his leg and felt the bone. His foot didn’t seem to be at the right angle either.
"When we raised this with Mr Jabbar, he said it was 'part of the plan' and dismissed our concerns with a level of arrogance that I misunderstood at the time for my panic as a parent versus his depth and experience.
"How wrong I was. I believed his words and dismissed Vivaan's screams as we were turning the screws on his frame as part of the treatment which had been prescribed.
"I was later told by another consultant that he had nerves running across the break, which were being stretched and pulled.
"I did my own research too as I was worried about the frame, so I contacted other specialist surgeons in this country and the United States who said that type of frame should not have been used.
"The hospital repeatedly denied this. I also remember we were told by one of Mr Jabbar's colleagues not to worry as he was 'the frame guy' who knew what he was doing, and for us to relax as we were at Great Ormond Street. We were basically told they didn't make mistakes.
"It was only at a later stage, when Vivaan was in terrible pain, that we saw another consultant and the hospital admitted that the wrong frame had been used.
"I think the hospital failed completely its duty of care to patients."
GOSH chief executive Matthew Shaw apologised to affected families on Thursday, branding Jabbar's practice as "entirely unacceptable".
"We are profoundly sorry to all the patients and their families who have been affected by the care provided by Mr Jabbar," he said.
"The report we have published today sets out in full what happened, what we found in our review of patients, what we have learnt and what we have done as a consequence."
A Metropolitan Police spokesperson said: "We will review the report commissioned by GOSH and assess whether there is any requirement for police involvement."
Mr Jabbar rescinded his UK medical licence in January 2024.
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