A GYNAECOLOGIST whose bungled operation on a mother-of-two led to her death six days later was cleared of serious professional misconduct after he said it was a "human mistake".

Abdel Mahfouz. of Lynton Road, Acton, did not realise he had cut into 37-year-old Fatima Al-Sabti's bowel during keyhole surgery after mistaking it for part of her womb.

The blunder was not spotted until the next day but she deteriorated and died in intensive care at the Wellington Hospital in St Johns Wood on August 26, 2002.

Giving evidence to the General Medical Council (GMC) on Friday, September 30, Dr Mahfouz admitted his actions were incompetent but claimed it was a "human mistake".

But he denied serious professional misconduct.

He was cleared of lying to an inquiry into the blunder and the GMC decided no further action should be taken.

Committee chairman Michael James said: "The panel accepts your evidence that at the conclusion of the operation you believed that you had performed a satisfactory procedure in that you had separated many of the pelvic adhesions."

He added: "You have admitted that you were negligent and expressed deep regret.

"The panel has concluded that your admitted negligence while falling short of the standards of best surgical practice does not amount to gross professional negligence.

"It does not reach the threshold necessary to reach a finding of serious professional misconduct."

The GMC heard Dr Mahfouz lacked the "training and expertise" for the operation to remove a potential cyst.

Miss Al-Sabti had flown over from Kuwait to have a breast lump removed but was suffering from chronic abdominal pain.

The operation was recorded on video and showed Dr Mahfouz perforating the colon.

Fiona Horlick, for the GMC, said: "Such advanced surgery should generally only be carried out by a recognised expert and in addition it is unwise to perform extreme surgery on a day patient."

The woman was due to leave Wellington Hospital later that day but was kept in as her condition deteriorated.

When nurses told Dr Mahfouz about the patient's fading health he allegedly told them not to worry about checking the woman's blood samples. The committee dismissed the allegation.

The gynaecologist has since had retraining at Whipps Cross and Basildon Hospitals.