A woman is taking legal action against a surgeon who she says ruined her life after what should have been a routine operation.
Vivienne Edwards went into the Whittington Hospital in London in September 2006 for a procedure to correct her lower back pain.
Dr Dhinh Nguyen said he could scrape away some bone and leave the patient pain-free.
However, when Ms Edwards awoke, she had severe bowel and bladder problems, nerve damage, clawed feet and numbness in her arms and legs, the London Evening Standard reports.
She realised that Dr Nguyen must have severed a nerve, but he denied that the problems had been caused by the operation.
The patient decided to sue the surgeon and Whittington Hospitals NHS Trust for clinical negligence four months ago and her solicitors believe that she could receive as much as £500,000 in compensation after complaints emerged from other patients.
"I’ve become very solitary. My life revolves around hospitals. It’s horrible. I’m only 60," Ms Edwards commented.
For clinical negligence claims to be successful, solicitors must prove that a duty of care existed between the patient and the medical professional and that he or she breached this. 
