A Fife woman has claimed a former Tayside surgeon ended her dance career and left her with long-term health difficulties.
Winnie Williamson, 53, from Markinch, trained at the London School of Contemporary Dance and performed and taught with various companies for 18 years.
Mrs Williamson never danced again after bone shavings were left in her body following an emergency back operation by Professor Muftah Salem Eljamel at Ninewells Hospital.
The debris left inside her body caused her back disc to protrude again and she was rushed to hospital less than a fortnight later after suffering an “internal explosion”.
Prof Eljamel had to perform the surgery again which left Mrs Williamson struggling to walk and forced her and husband Kevin to delay IVF treatment until she recovered.
She had to give up her job because recovery was slow and the spinal damage meant she had to undergo a fully-sedated caesarean when she delivered her daughter three years later.
She said the fact that she was unable to immediately hold her much-longed-for child was the biggest regret of her life.
Mrs Williamson has now backed calls made by former Dundee radio DJ Patrick Kelly this week for a public inquiry to find out what really happened to her and others.
Prof Eljamel, who was a consultant neurological surgeon in NHS Tayside from 1995, was suspended last year by the General Medical Council after a patient underwent surgery on the wrong spinal disc.
The surgeon, who no longer works for NHS Tayside, was also forced to step down from his teaching and research posts at Dundee University.
Speaking publicly for the first time, Mrs Williamson said she was 38 and working as the special needs dancer-in-residence with Clackmannanshire Leisure when the first surgery took place in 2000.
She said: “An MRI scan diagnosed the protruding disc was pressing on the nerve supply to my bowel and bladder, hence the urgency.
“The operation was, I was led to believe, a success but two weeks later I was reaching down to open a drawer and felt what can only be described as an internal explosion.
“After a night sitting upright I was rushed again to Ninewells Hospital and another MRI was organised for the next day.
“The on-call doctor told me that there had been remnants left in my spine following surgery by Professor Eljamel and the disc had relapsed.
“I had to have the exact same operation and this time the recovery process was much slower and my movement was totally compromised.
“Needless to say the following years were impossible as I had to learn how to walk, swim, drive and also had to postpone very longed for IVF treatment.
“At the time I did not pursue anything as he was considered an expert in prolapse surgery.”
Mrs Williamson said she was terrified to attempt any further physical activity and eventually had to give up her job as a dance practitioner.
She said: “Any core strength I had was gone because of the surgery on my lower back 12 days apart and this has never returned.
“I still to this day experience lower back pain at all times with varying degrees of intensity. I am only able to do non-physical work.”
The Courier previously revealed accident claims solicitors in Scotland are dealing with a number of cases relating to surgery by Prof Eljamel.
He has refused to comment on his suspension and is now believed to be living in Manchester.
NHS Tayside previously said that although they could not comment on individual cases they would “undertake appropriate investigation or review.”
A spokeswoman said they had nothing to add to the previous statement.