Mum left with extreme scars after surgeon performs skin graft operation without her consent

A mother was left with extreme scars on her face after she underwent a surgical operation she did not consent to. Tammie Stanley, 41, has undergone more than 40 operations in her life after she suffered third-degree burns as an eight-week-old baby in a mobile home fire. She claims she quit her job as a carer and was left housebound after a surgeon decided to take a skin graft from her neck to cover up scar tissue. The 41-year-old was admitted to John Radcliffe Hospital for z-plasty release - a plastic surgery technique used to improve the appearance of scars. She claims she quit her job as a carer and was left housebound after a surgeon decided to take a skin graft from her neck to cover up scar tissue. She received a five-figure payout from the hospital in September last year in an out-of-court settlement after bosses admitted the operation did not meet "satisfactory standard".

She said: "This was supposed to be my last surgery - I was going to get this done and that was it because I had dealt with my scars.
"Growing up with burns scars you just get on with life. I wasn't brought up sheltered away and I was always one of those people who didn't notice people staring, I was very confident - the life and soul.
"But the operation left me with more scarring at both corners of my mouth and completely changed how my face looked. Having these scars that were not there before brought it all back for me and brought it home that I did have scars.
"I felt too uncomfortable to leave the house unless I was with my partner and I had to quit my job because I couldn't face people who knew me from before the surgery.
"I couldn't bear to look at myself in the mirror and experienced severe depression and panic attacks because I felt so self-conscious. Even two years on, my face still feels weird.
"The scars are ugly. It is horrible and nasty, and more extreme than the scarring I had previously. It's not scarring I can cover up - they're on my face and you can't hide them."
A spokesman for Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust said: "This has been an extremely difficult experience for Miss Stanley.
"The Trust wishes to apologise for some aspects of her treatment which were not conducted to a satisfactory standard.
"We extend our apologies for pain and distress that this has caused her."
Amy Kirk, a lawyer at Fletchers Solicitors, said: "The trust formally accepted responsibility for not gaining consent from Tammie for the skin graft procedure and admitted causing additional scarring to her face and neck, numbness and altered sensation.
"They failed to consider other surgical techniques which could have helped improve Tammie's tightening around her mouth and scarring, rather than make it worse.
"We hope the compensation goes some way in helping Tammie to rebuild her life."