A Westmeath man suffered fatal bleeding while undergoing what a hospital consultant described as “low-risk” surgery to ease pressure on a nerve in his head, an inquest has heard.
Shane Kelly, 57, died from “torrential” bleeding during an operation at Beaumont Hospital in Dublin on October 1, 2020 to treat a condition known as trigeminal neuralgia, where a blood vessel is pressing against the nerve which provides sensation to the face. A sitting of Dublin District Coroner’s Court heard Mr Kelly, a baker from Mayfield Grove, Athlone, Co Westmeath, had opted for the elective surgery as he had “just wanted to live a pain-free life.”
Mr Kelly’s fiancée, Ruth Dwyer, said her partner had suffered debilitating pain in his head from the condition. Ms Dwyer said a neurosurgeon, Daniel Rawluk, who had seen Mr Kelly at the Hermitage Clinic in Dublin, had diagnosed him with trigeminal neuralgia in 2019 for which she was grateful as he had suffered chronic pain in his face since 2014.
