A HAMPSHIRE woman died unexpectedly two days after a failed procedure to remove gallstones.

An inquest heard that Phyllis Cullen was diagnosed with the condition in July but her operation, which is performed under local anaesthetic, was delayed until September.

The 74-year-old attended Winchester’s Royal Hampshire County Hospital on September 30 for the elected procedure, which Dr Francis Murphy, consultant physician, said was “delicate”.

He said he was unable to complete it after trying for 20 minutes because Mrs Cullen was very anxious and therefore not relaxed.

“I stopped knowing there was an option for her to return in the next couple of weeks, when I think we would have succeeded,” he said.

She was discharged two hours later and returned home to Nether Wallop, near Stockbridge, but returned to hospital within hours in pain.

Doctors found she had contracted severe pancreatitis as a result of the procedure. She died on October 3.

Senior coroner for central Hampshire, Grahame Short, recorded a narrative verdict.