A YOUNG woman has been left with a horrific scar and says she was forced to undergo an unnecessary operation.

Uxbridge resident Suzanne Potter should have been celebrating her 21st birthday this year, but instead spent the past few months in agony.

On June 7 she was admitted to Hillingdon Hospital, in Pield Heath Road, Uxbridge. There, she was told her appendix had to be removed, despite the presence of fluid on her ovaries.

Miss Potter, who is an optician's sales assistant, also underwent a laparoscopy, where a camera is used to identify problems in the abdomin.

She said: "It wasn't my appendix. I had an ultrasound and they thought it might be an ectopic pregnancy or an abscess but nothing showed up.

"The fluid they told me about was just dismissed. The nurses were lovely but the doctors just seemed to want to rush me through."

After being discharged from hospital, Miss Potter felt progressively worse. She was re-admitted, suffering an infection after the laparoscopy.

On June 25 she was released again but, within a month, she was rushed back and had to be placed on a heart monitor and given oxygen after doctors feared her lungs would collapse.

"I was really frightened. The doctor himself said he couldn't believe I was sat up. They were going to take me to intensive care but they did emergency surgery to drain the fluid instead."

However, her ordeal was far from over. Her wounds were stapled, but last week they began to re-open.

Miss Potter said: "They (the hospital) wouldn't re-admit me. I was scared I was going to die.

"I now have to see a nurse every day to change the dressing and I'm still in a lot of pain."

A spokeswoman for the hospital said they were sorry Miss Potter was unhappy with her care but would be happy to discuss her concerns and guide her through the complaints procedure if she wishes the matter to be investigated further.

Miss Potter has since been told she may not be able to conceive, although she is unaware if this is because of the surgery.

She added: "I'm usually a happy, bubbly person but now I feel depressed. I'm only 21 and I've had my stomach butchered."