A WROUGHTON mum says that her life has been ruined after surgery.

Mum-of-two Theresa Hinton went under the knife at the Royal Bournemouth Hospital last year to treat painful varicose veins in her pelvis.

She says that the operation has left her in constant pain and unable to look after her young family.

The 33-year-old is hoping to travel to Germany for potentially life-changing restorative treatment – but needs to raise a massive £35,000 to fund the surgery.

Former pharmaceutical lab worker Theresa, said of the surgery: “It’s ruined my life.

“I had had problems with my veins from my pregnancies. The veins in my legs were coming up against the skin.

“It was uncomfortable, so I went to see a specialist.”

The doctor she saw at Guildford-based varicose vein experts The Whiteley Clinic diagnosed pelvic congestion syndrome, a chronic condition caused by swollen and twisted veins.

Given scans, she asked her GP to refer her to the doctor – who also practised in the NHS.

Last June she went under the knife at the Royal Bournemouth Hospital for a procedure called pelvic vein embolisation.

Surgeons inserted a thin plastic tube into the affected vein. A metal “coil” was then pushed through the tube into the vein. The metal wire is designed to prevent blood falling back through the veins, meaning that over time the varicose veins should shrink.

Instantly after the operation, however, Theresa could feel something wasn’t right.

“From day one I have been progressively getting worse,” she said.

“I feel like my veins are going to burst. It’s just affected everything from by belly button down.

“It’s got to the point where I’m pretty much disabled. I can’t do anything really.”

With Theresa often bed-bound, her youngest child, aged two, must spend all day with a childminder.

She said: “It’s the worst thing not to be able to look after your kids.”

During an operation at St Thomas’ hospital in London this summer, Theresa had most of the coils removed from her pelvis. It helped with the pain briefly, but she believes that the only long-term solution is experimental surgery in Germany.

Vascular surgeon Dr Wilhelm Sandmann has proposed treating the damaged pelvic veins by taking skin grafts from her legs and inserting them into the embolised veins.

Theresa has already travelled to Dr Sandmann’s practice in north Germany once for a consultation – a 96-hour round trip that she describes as the worst journey of her life.

She is currently being prescribed strong pain killers, and said: “They don’t know what to do with me in this country. I want the surgery done as soon as possible.

“If I could go in tomorrow I would.”

A spokeswoman for the Royal Bournemouth Hospital said: “We cannot comment on individual cases due to patient confidentiality.

“We take the safety of our patients extremely seriously and always investigate when a patient reports they are unhappy with any aspect of their care.

“We are constantly striving to improve the safety and quality of the care we provide and feedback from our patients helps us know where to focus our improvements.

“Anyone who wishes to raise a concern, or provide feedback, should get in touch with our Patient Advice and Liaison Service.”

To donate to Theresa’s surgery fund, visit: the website, which can be found at www.gofundme.com/theresas-surgery-in-germany.