CARE worker Kevin Corcoran endured 11 years of facial pain, infections, colds and a horrible smell, after doctors left a rubber splint up his nose.

Kevin, from Weaste, Salford, had problems with his nose after he underwent a routine operation at Hope Hospital in 1988.

The smell coming from the 28-year-old's nose was so bad that he had to look the other way when he said 'I do' to bride Martine, 22, in 1999.

Kevin, of Kingsford Street, says he spent over £2,000 on menthol sweets and mints to try to mask the problem.

His misery only came to an end when his GP sent him for further surgery in December 1999.

Splint

Medics found the splint and removed it and Kevin experienced the first relief of his symptoms in 11 years.

In an out of court settlement, he was awarded £10,600 by Trafford and Salford Health Authority after his case was handled by city centre solicitors Linder Myers.

Kevin said: ''It's a huge relief the splint has gone. All the time I didn't know what the problem was and the smell had got really embarrassing.

''Now at last I can get on with my life.''

Kevin had the original operation for a nasal obstruction. He returned a month later to have two splints removed. But medics could only find and remove one of them.

Now health bosses have accepted that Kevin's nose should have been investigated with a fibreoptic telescope, which would have revealed the location of the splint.

Linder Myers clinical negligence specialist Mark Slater said: ''A straightforward operation would have revealed the missing splint and enabled doctors to remove it in days rather than years.''

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