A Redbridge woman whose lip muscles were permanently damaged in a dental operation has been awarded £55,000 compensation.

Joanne Keane, 42, reached an out of court settlement with Barts and the London NHS Trust after years living with the botched treatment carried out between 2006 and 2009.

She said she needed bone graft surgery before dental implants were put in.

“I trusted I was in good hands and this would be performed correctly, but soon after the procedure I began to suffer severe pain and I knew something was wrong.”

Infection

The graft, placed on to the bone of her jaw, had become infected and further surgery was needed to remove it.

But it was another month before the second operation, which resulted in damage to the muscles controlling her lip. It has changed Joanne’s speech and appearance forever.

She said: “The suffering from the infection was bad enough, but this was a nightmare.

“The compensation I have received will never put right what has happened.

“It won’t help me feel less self-conscious about how I now look. I never imagined anything like this happening to me.”

Joanne believes she should have been warned about the risks of the procedure.

“I was never once told about the underlying health risks, let alone any nerve or muscle damage that could be permanent,” she said. “I feel completely violated.”

The Barts and London NHS Trust admitted there was an unnecessary delay before removing the infected bone graft but denied there was a duty to advise Joanne about possible nerve damage.

Her lawyer Heather Williams, from the Dental Law Partnership, said: “The level of settlement reflects the severity of the consequences which arose from the complete lack of care shown.”

The trust declined to comment.