Dundee mum-of-six Donna Elder has opened up on her trauma at the hands of disgraced surgeon Sam Eljamel – an ordeal that left her in constant pain and living with PTSD.
The 37-year-old needs support from her children to carry out routine daily tasks, including getting dressed.
She is also haunted by visions of the rogue doctor in his “horrible brown suit and dickie bow”.
Donna told The Courier: “You do adjust to the pain…this is just my life now.”
Aged 23, she was referred to the neurologist in 2010 after experiencing severe headaches and blurred vision.
Diagnosed with Idiopathic Intracranial Hypertension (IIH) – a build up of pressure around the brain – Donna was told by Eljamel that unless she went under his knife she could lose her sight and even suffer a stroke.
The surgeon described how he would insert an LP shunt, diverting the extra cerebrospinal fluid from around Donna’s spine into her abdomen.
Donna trusted the NHS Tayside surgeon, who told her his plan would cure her.
“I was terrified but I was young and impressionable. He was meant to be the best, this God of a man who would take away my pain and fix my sight,” she said.
But what she had no way of knowing was that far from a God, at the time of her surgery Eljamel’s own colleagues in Dundee had raised concerns about his standard of care.
One, a cancer specialist, even opted to travel to London in 2006 to receive treatment rather than allow Eljamel to operate.
‘Pain like nothing I’ve experienced before’
As she woke up the day after her surgery, far from cured Donna was instead unable to stop vomiting or tolerate light.
“The pain wasn’t like anything I’ve experienced before. My face felt like every single bone had been shattered and I couldn’t sit up right,” she said.
She recalls Eljamel stood at the foot of her hospital bed wearing a “horrible brown suit and dickie bow”.
Disgraced surgeon ‘seemed confused’
She describes him as looking “confused” by her symptoms and said that if she was still in the same condition the next day then he would have to operate again.
“My mum had to stay over 24/7 putting ice compresses on my face,” she said.
“I had seen him (Eljamel) a couple of times, but it was like he didn’t know why I was having this reaction.”
Despite making no improvement, Donna decided she would not undergo any further surgery and became determined to leave the hospital.
“They were saying they would need to take the shunt out, but I didn’t want them to touch me. I just wanted to go home.
“They seemed to be hiding something. I just wanted them to think I was OK so I could leave. My biggest fear was him coming near me.”
‘I am so much worse now’
More than a decade on, Donna still lives in constant pain. She is still unable to bend over and relies on support from her family – including her six children.
“I am so much worse. I have back pain now too. I don’t know if he’s done something to my back or my nerves.
She added: “I have shooting pains from my back mainly into my left leg but sometimes right up my spine.
“My kids have to dress me, they have to help me put my underwear, socks and trousers on.
‘This is my life now’
“You do adjust to the pain, this is just my life now.”
Donna also lives with PTSD and anxiety, in part caused by what happened.
The experience has also prompted intense medical anxiety, making her hyper-vigilant of her own health and terrified of her children becoming unwell.
“After what happened I couldn’t even look at pictures of the man. He makes me feel physically sick,” she said.
She is breaking her silence after 13 years to share her experience in the hope of it helps the campaign for a public inquiry into Prof Eljamel’s work and what NHS Tayside knew.
First Minister Humza Yousaf has come under pressure from those impacted by Eljamel to order a probe.
Since she was discharged in 2010, Donna says she has only been contacted by the neurology department once in 2013.
“It was strange. I hadn’t heard anything in three years and suddenly they got in touch,” she said.
“Even if they told me I needed another operation I wouldn’t do it.”
The health board has never told her formally if Eljamel botched her operation.
“I don’t know what happened, all I know is how sick I was. Somebody should have looked into it.
“They should have looked at all his files. If they thought there was a chance something had gone wrong they should have brought people back in.”
Whistle blowers allege NHS Tayside were aware of concerns surrounding the rogue surgeon’s behaviour years before they suspended him.
Donna is supporting calls by other victims of the surgeon for a public inquiry, saying she “doesn’t trust NHS Tayside” to self-regulate.
She said: “Nobody can trust them. People were telling them and they still let him away with it. If junior doctors say something isn’t right they should have looked into it.”
NHS Tayside said it had accepted and actioned the recommendations made in three external reviews which took place between 2013 and 2022.
A spokeswoman added: “NHS Tayside apologises to former patients and remains committed to do whatever is required to support any independent process which is being set up by Scottish Government to respond to the ongoing concerns of these former patients of Professor Eljamel.
“The board continues to work closely with the Government regarding these next steps and we would again encourage anyone – patients or staff – who has concerns about Professor Eljamel to contact the Patient Liaison Response Team.”
