Pierina Kapur, a consultant paediatric surgeon operated on the seven-week-old baby at Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital. She was due to remove a hernial sac but she mistook the hernia for the bladder. The mistake came to light when the baby was admitted to the hospital’s intensive care unit with acute kidney failure. The baby, who is now 18 months old, suffered irreparable damage to the lower urinary tract and faces further operations.

Appearing before the General Medical Council’s disciplinary panel, Miss Kapur was accused of not taking steps to arrange for blood tests or an ultrasound. She denies misconduct although she admitted that the surgery was inadequate.