Rachid* only has vague memories of this period. “Between the omnipresent pain and the medications, I was in a sort of permanent fog,” recalls this former motorcycle courier. It was almost seven years ago, at the beginning of 2017. The man, then aged 43, suffered from a herniated disc which made him suffer torture. The infiltration had no effect. He knows that the last option remains surgery. “A friend told me about Dr Stéphane Delajoux. I didn’t know anything about it, I trusted him…” he breathes. The neurosurgeon operated on him four times between March 17 and May 30, without his condition improving. On the contrary.
The practitioner was ordered this summer to pay Rachid, now recognized as a disabled worker, more than 115,000 euros in damages. “The court considers that Dr. Delajoux did not give his patient conscientious, attentive care consistent with the data acquired from science,” we can read in the judgment that 20 minutes was obtained. He did not appeal.
Three procedures still in progress
This is not the first time that the “surgeon to the stars”, as he is regularly nicknamed, has been convicted. If in 2010, in the dispute between him and Johnny Hallyday – relatives of the singer had then described him as a “butcher” – an agreement had been reached, 20 minutes recorded around ten convictions. Almost every time, the court found medical errors or negligence. In 2012 and then in 2013, for example, he was condemned for having the wrong vertebrae during interventions. In December 2022, he was ordered to pay nearly 115,000 euros following “a surgical blunder” during a hernia operation which led the patient to intensive care. Three procedures are also being investigated, specifies a judicial source.
Back in 2017. “Everything happened very quickly,” Rachid rewinds. On March 15, the forty-year-old met the surgeon for the first time, who offered to operate on him two days later. “I was quite relieved that it was going quickly, I was really sore and I was like ‘the sooner this is done, the better’,” he continues. On the 17th, the forty-year-old went to the operating room. “Total removal of the hernia”, indicates the operative report. But when he wakes up, the pain is unbearable. “I have never felt so bad in my life,” he insists.
The next day, however, he was sent home. But he only stays there for a few hours: the fever continues to rise and Rachid can barely feel his legs. The MRI reveals a post-operative hematoma, but Dr Stéphane Delajoux affirms that it is biological glue, that no repeat operation is necessary. His colleagues, however, insist. One of them notes in the patient’s medical file that there is also “a doubt about the positioning of this prosthesis”. Rachid assures that for ten days, he did not receive any visit from the practitioner, who contented himself with a phone call.
A fourth operation deemed “useless”
On March 29, twelve days after his first visit to the operating room, Dr. Delajoux finally operated on Rachid again. According to a particularly damning medical report – the conclusions of which were contested by the defense –, as of “March 22, there was an indication for surgical revision”. The operation shows that Rachid is indeed suffering from a hematoma which – fortunately – did not lead to paralysis. The prosthesis is removed, a new one repositioned. The discharge is planned for the next day, but the pain persists.
April 12, new MRI. The diagnosis is clear: “persistence of a herniated disc”. This is a probable recurrence. On April 21, the forty-year-old returned to the operating room. For the third time, then. Dr. Delajoux is still at work. “I no longer trusted him but I was in so much pain, it was unbearable. I couldn’t wait to find another surgeon, I just wanted relief,” the patient insists. “Total removal of the hernia”, we can read again on the intervention report. A third prosthesis was put in place, but nothing changed.
On May 20, Rachid had an MRI again with the feeling of an eternal beginning. The hernia is still there, we need to go back to the operating room. Fourth operation and fourth prosthesis installation. An intervention deemed “unnecessary” by the expert mandated by the courts. In his eyes, Dr Delajoux should have requested additional examinations. “The choice of another surgical procedure should have been considered. This intervention was (…) a failure,” he says.
Prostheses not recommended by the High Authority of Health
Another blunder noted by the expert: the choice of these prostheses. “The 2013 recommendations of the High Authority for Health (HAS) are clear and demonstrate the lack of service provided by such a device,” he writes. These are certainly not prohibited but are not recommended by the health authorities. Dr Delajoux assures that they were perfectly adapted to his patient’s case, he denounces an expert opinion. However, note the judges, he never requested a second opinion. When asked, his lawyer did not respond.
Rachid was finally operated on again in the fall of 2017 by another surgeon. This time, no prosthesis was fitted to him. His state of health has improved, although it remains diminished. He was never able to resume his professional activity. In question, the evolution of his pathology, obviously, but also the repeated operations. “We should not underestimate the general impact caused by these unnecessary prosthetic fittings,” notes the expert.
No ethical fault, believes the Council of the Order
With his lawyer, Me Anne-Claire Lejeune, the forty-year-old also filed a complaint before the council of the Order of Physicians. The Parisian branch of the organization got involved. But the outcome was different. The Ile-de-France disciplinary chamber considered that there had been no ethical misconduct (it does not comment on the technique). According to the ordinal judges, “no lack of follow-up can be blamed on him”: the patient’s information and follow-up were ethical. “What saddens me is that other patients risk suffering the same trauma as me,” laments Rachid. He appealed this decision, supported by the Paris branch of the Order of Physicians.
* The first name has been changed at the request of the person concerned