454 
The position of a woman’s body during surgery may have led to liver problems which caused her death, a coroner has said.
Janice Stevenson, 36, died after a routine spine operation at Nottingham’s Queen’s Medical Centre in November 2006, sparking an inquiry.
Her case was examined along with a number of other surgical procedures carried out in the same theatre after which patients became ill.
It found Ms Stevenson, of Burton-on-Trent, developed liver problems during the operation and that they led to her death, it has emerged.
A search through medical records covering similar cases discovered that a 16-year-old boy had died in a similar way.
Police and medical experts at the centre have ruled out any suspicious circumstances.
The report into her death has been passed to Nottinghamshire’s coroner Dr Nigel Chapman, who said an inquest will take place.
“The death is thought to be related to the position of the patient in theatre,” he said.
“An interim report has been sent to the Royal College of Anaesthetists to prevent any other deaths, although a worldwide search and a search in this country has not produced similar types of deaths.”
Copyright © PA Business 2008
