Woman from Penwortham died suddenly in blood clot tragedy

Sharon Ruth Forde, 65, had undergone a laparotomy at Royal Preston Hospital on September 14, 2017.

However just two weeks afterwards – on September 29, 2017 - she died at home after developing a blood clot.

Giving evidence at Preston Coroner’s Court consultant pathologist Dr Helen Stringfellow said: “Small parts of [the clot] have broken off, travelled to the heart and lung. That could have happened over several days.”

Dr Stringfellow told the hearing the fragments could have caused the breathlessness that Mrs Forde experienced before her death.

She added that it was when the whole clot moved to the right side of Mrs Forde’s heart that she died.

“That just caused sudden immediate death,” said Dr Stringfellow.

Questions were raised over whether medics who performed Mrs Forde’s surgery could have warned her about the risks of deep vein thrombosis (DVT).

Consultant Dr Kishore Pursnani, of Royal Preston Hospital, said because Mrs Forde, who was an active person, was a low-risk patient they would not have warned her.

Questions were also asked about whether, because Mrs Forde had previously had varicose veins removed, if this could have indicted that she might be at risk of DVT. However Dr Pursnani said there was “no evidence” for the link.

Coroner Richard Taylor said: “Sharon Ruth Forde died on September 29, 2017 of complications following essential surgery which was undertaken on September 14, 2017.”