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Surgeon wins fight to decide how much to tell patients about his previous infection

BMJ 2014; 348 doi: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.g2160 (Published 17 March 2014) Cite this as: BMJ 2014;348:g2160
  1. Clare Dyer
  1. 1BMJ

A cardiac surgeon at the centre of the world’s worst recorded outbreak of prosthetic valve endocarditis need not tell his future patients of his history when he returns to full practice, a High Court judge has ruled.

But Mr Justice Lewis held that Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust was not in breach of contract in not getting John Lu back in the operating theatre sooner.

Lu, who became a consultant surgeon at Trent Cardiac Centre in 2007, was colonised with antibiotic resistant Staphylococcus epidermidis, which was present in the unit before he arrived.

Eleven patients operated on by him between December 2008 and July 2009 developed prosthetic valve endocarditis, of whom five died and another …

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