Man suffers broken ankle and LOSES a leg after doctors make plaster cast too tight

Tom Talks, 80, fractured his ankle while walking his dog and was taken to hospital where he was fitted with the cast.

But his leg swelled up and he was left in agonising pain which forced to return several times to ask doctors to loosen the cast to relieve the pressure.

They refused and Mr Talks eventually collapsed and was rushed to hospital by ambulance where surgeons told him he was lucky to be alive.

Tom Talks, 80, recovers in hospital today after having his leg amputated. Mr Talks broke his ankle and his leg became swollen after his cast became too tight

They found an infection so severe Mr Talks, a retired engineer, had to undergo surgery to amputate his right leg above the knee.

He suffered a heart attack and severe kidney problems after surgery and is still recuperating in hospital.

Speaking from his hospital bed, Mr Talks said he  went to Fairfield Hospital in Bury, Greater Manchester on May 19 where doctors examined his fractured ankle and then fitted a cast.

On his return home his leg swelled up and became very sore so he returned to the hospital the following day and asked staff to loosen the plaster cast but they refused and told him not to worry.

But the pain got worse, so he returned the following day  when staff relented and cut a  small slit along the side of the cast to try to relieve some pressure.

But Mr Talks, of Rochdale was still in excruciating pain so he returned every weekday for a fortnight to ask staff to loosen the plaster.

On one occasion Mr Talks says he attended hospital with his wife, Hellentraut, 84, and waited several hours before a doctor said there was no swelling at all.

The couple were attending a routine appointment at their health centre in on June 4 when Mr Talks suddenly collapsed and was rushed to Rochdale Infirmary.

The family says that when staff cut away the plaster cast, his leg was found to be severely infected.

He was transferred to North Manchester General and suffered a heart attack before having surgery the next day. 

Since then, he has suffered kidney problems and has twice been moved from a normal ward to the high dependency unit.

Mr Talks, a keen fundraiser, cares for his wife Hellentraut, 84, who has been left distraught by what has happened to him.

He said: 'Every day for a week I begged them to release the pressure. It felt like my leg was trying to burst out of its skin.

'When the surgeon asked me for my permission to amputate my leg, he told me I was very lucky to be alive. He said by the day after, I would have been a dead man.

'I knew my wife couldn't cope with losing me, so I told him to amputate my leg. I'm not angry about what happened, that only leads to bitterness, but I want them to find out what went wrong so this doesn't happen to another patient.

'All I care about now is my wife's wellbeing and getting mobile again.'

His grandson, Karl Sanderson, said: 'Several senior medical staff urged me to make a complaint because they were so horrified.

'This is the 21st century, we should not be in a situation where someone might die because they fracture their ankle.

'Obviously something went wrong, but we need to know just what happened, who has done what and why.

'My grandfather was fit and healthy, but in the last two months as well as losing his leg he has had three near-death experiences.

'We hope that by making a complaint and pursuing an investigation, we will be able to make a difference to the system so everybody benefits.'

Five weeks on, Mr Talks is still being treated in hospital and bosses at the Pennine Acute Trust, which runs North Manchester General Hospital and Fairfield Hospitals, have launched a full investigation into the claims.

A spokesman for Pennine Acute Trust said: 'We can confirm that a complaint has been received from the family.

'As this matter is now part of the formal complaints process, we cannot comment further.'