Inquest into the Death of John Houghton
Delivered on 31 March 2017 at Perth.
Finding of Deputy State Coroner Vicker.
Summary
The deceased was a 72 year old man who had undergone a hip replacement procedure on 23 June 2014.
The deceased attended the Peel Health campus due to ongoing pain in his flank and on further investigation it was discovered he had metastatic bladder cancer.
The deceased was transferred to Fremantle Hospital where he was managed for his bladder cancer and died on 11 July 2014.
Prior to the deceased's hip replacement he had been referred to a urologist by his GP due to recurring urinary tract infections and an irregularity on his bladder wall shown on ultrasound. The urologist examined the deceased and the radiology and did not believe the bladder irregularity was cancerous, although it did need to be investigated.
The urologist asked the deceased be placed on a hospital list for a flexible cystoscopy and treated him with antibiotics in preparation for his hip surgery. The cystoscopy was not listed before the hip replacement and the hip replacement proceeded without diagnosis of what was later confirmed to be an aggressive bladder cancer.
There was a concern both the bladder cancer and hip surgery would predispose the deceased to pulmonary embolism which was likely to have been the mechanism for the deceased’s death.
The Coroner found it would have been preferable for the deceased to have been in a position to make his own decision about the competing interests of his management and treatment for bladder cancer and hip replacement, but the uncertainty of hospital waiting lists made it difficult to prioritise diagnostic procedures.
Catch Words
Urologist : Bladder Cancer : Hip Replacement : Natural Causes.
Last updated: 25 August 2022
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