A FATHER-OF-FOUR has been scarred for life after a fire broke out while he was in an operating theatre.

Paul Hill, 43, from Thornaby, was under a general anaesthetic when he sustained burns to his stomach on an operating table at Stockton’s University Hospital of North Tees.

After his operation he was told that his stomach had been burned when an alcohol-based solution used to clean his skin caught fire.

The North Tees and Hartlepool NHS Foundation Trust, which runs the North Tees Hospital, is conducting an internal investigation into the incident, which happened in March.

While it may be seen as a freak accident there are a number of recorded incidents in other NHS hospitals where alcohol-based solutions have ignited.

In March 2012 a patient undergoing surgery at Scarborough Hospital in North Yorkshire was set on fire and burned during a procedure when a cleaning solution containing alcohol burst into flames.

The NHS has previously warned staff that there is a risk of patients being burned when a procedure known as diathermy is used in conjunction with alcohol-based solutions.

Diathermy is the term used when high-frequency alternating current is used to heat or burn tissues and coagulate blood.

The incident left Mr Hill with scars on the right side of his stomach. Since it happened he has been visited at home by a district nurse every day to change his dressings.

When he came round after the operation Mr Hill said he struggled to take in what had happened.

“I didn’t even know it was possible. When they told me I didn’t know what to think,” he said.

The fire broke out during the latest in a number of operations endured by Mr Hill.

His problems began when he was diagnosed with a condition called familiar adenomatous polyposis in November 2012.

This condition, which causes polyps to form in the large intestine, often requires surgery to prevent colon cancer developing.

As a result of his condition Mr Hill underwent a number of procedures, resulting in him being in the operating theatre on March 19 when the fire broke out.

A spokeswoman for North Tees and Hartlepool NHS Foundation Trust said: “We take incidents like this extremely seriously. A thorough investigation into what happened and what can be put in place to prevent this happening again has almost been concluded.”